COLUMBIA The old coach watches from afar these days, all the while making subtle observations about the program he once led. Norm Stewart embraces his fandom now, but he simply cannot help it; once a coach, always a coach. “I’ve coached a long time,” Stewart said during a recent phone interview, “so I have a lot of observations.” Stewart ended his 32-year reign as Missouri’s basketball coach in 1999, and while he spends his winters in California, that hasn’t kept him from following the program’s rise to the top of the polls under new coach Frank Haith. Stewart prefers to stay out of the spotlight, so he’s hesitant to even speak for this story. But considering Missouri’s success this season, his thoughts are overwhelmingly positive. A win over Texas A&M on Saturday improved the Tigers’ record to 25-2, tying Stewart’s 1989-90 team for the best start in school history.So when he starts talking about the unselfishness of this year’s team and the excitement their play has brought Tiger Nation, well, he just can’t help himself. Stewart begins by saying he’s watched most of Missouri’s conference games this season with a group of his friends in California, a custom he has had for years. “You can tell coach Haith that our group is just like all the other fans,” said Stewart, who added that he has been particularly impressed with the job Haith his staff has done. Stewart explained that typically, a new coach can get a team to buy into his philosophy on one side of the ball that first year. It might be offense or defense, but it’s rarely both because implementing a style of play takes time. But Missouri has been the exception, Stewart said, because the players have accepted the four-guard offense and half-court defense Haith has implemented, despite the fact they run counter to the frenetic style of play preferred by former coach Mike Anderson. “The No. 1 thing you’ve got to get on a ballclub that he’s gotten is acceptance,” Stewart said. “He got the acceptance of the players to him, him to the players and the players to one another.” Stewart believes this isn’t a coincidence, either. Seniors typically play a key role when this happens, and Missouri features five in its seven-man rotation. When asked whether any players stood out, Stewart recognized senior guards Marcus Denmon and Kim English, particularly noting the crucial versatility and growth of the latter this season. “I think the English kid, coming off a year that probably didn’t meet his own expectations, has done a good job,” Stewart said. English and Denmon have repeatedly stressed the need to take it one game and one moment at a time. English has referred to it as “The Process” quite often, an approach that Stewart echoed when asked whether this year’s well-rounded group will become the first Missouri team to make the Final Four. “It’s too premature,” said Stewart, who took two teams to the Elite Eight. “You just play and win as many games as you can and get ready. You’ve got to get that high seed, that can help you.” Stewart did note, however, that it’s not too early to start thinking about the Big 12 championship. Missouri is 12-2 in conference play and tied with Kansas for first place with a Feb. 25 showdown in Lawrence looming. “It would be nice to see them win the (Big 12) championship, and that takes some doing because you’re playing on other teams’ courts half the time,” Stewart said. But while Stewart acknowledges that the ending to Missouri’s season has yet to be written, one thing is for sure: He and his group of buddies in California will continue to watch, all the while enjoying the ride. “We had about 30 (people) at one time, and we dwindled down to about eight,” Stewart said of the group. “But now we’ve grown again, and we’re back to normal.”

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Former MU coach Norm Stewart enjoys what he’s seen this year

By TEREZ A. PAYLOR

The Kansas City Star

COMING UP

• Tuesday: K-State at MU, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)

• Saturday: MU at Kansas, 3 p.m. (CBS)

More Sports:

COLUMBIA -- The old coach watches from afar these days, all the while making subtle observations about the program he once led. Norm Stewart embraces his fandom now, but he simply cannot help it; once a coach, always a coach.

“I’ve coached a long time,” Stewart said during a recent phone interview, “so I have a lot of observations.”

Stewart ended his 32-year reign as Missouri’s basketball coach in 1999, and while he spends his winters in California, that hasn’t kept him from following the program’s rise to the top of the polls under new coach Frank Haith.

Stewart prefers to stay out of the spotlight, so he’s hesitant to even speak for this story. But considering Missouri’s success this season, his thoughts are overwhelmingly positive. A win over Texas A&M on Saturday improved the Tigers’ record to 25-2, tying Stewart’s 1989-90 team for the best start in school history.

So when he starts talking about the unselfishness of this year’s team and the excitement their play has brought Tiger Nation, well, he just can’t help himself. Stewart begins by saying he’s watched most of Missouri’s conference games this season with a group of his friends in California, a custom he has had for years.

“You can tell coach Haith that our group is just like all the other fans,” said Stewart, who added that he has been particularly impressed with the job Haith his staff has done.

Stewart explained that typically, a new coach can get a team to buy into his philosophy on one side of the ball that first year. It might be offense or defense, but it’s rarely both because implementing a style of play takes time.

But Missouri has been the exception, Stewart said, because the players have accepted the four-guard offense and half-court defense Haith has implemented, despite the fact they run counter to the frenetic style of play preferred by former coach Mike Anderson.

“The No. 1 thing you’ve got to get on a ballclub that he’s gotten is acceptance,” Stewart said. “He got the acceptance of the players to him, him to the players and the players to one another.”

Stewart believes this isn’t a coincidence, either. Seniors typically play a key role when this happens, and Missouri features five in its seven-man rotation.

When asked whether any players stood out, Stewart recognized senior guards Marcus Denmon and Kim English, particularly noting the crucial versatility and growth of the latter this season.

“I think the English kid, coming off a year that probably didn’t meet his own expectations, has done a good job,” Stewart said.

English and Denmon have repeatedly stressed the need to take it one game and one moment at a time. English has referred to it as “The Process” quite often, an approach that Stewart echoed when asked whether this year’s well-rounded group will become the first Missouri team to make the Final Four.

“It’s too premature,” said Stewart, who took two teams to the Elite Eight. “You just play and win as many games as you can and get ready. You’ve got to get that high seed, that can help you.”

Stewart did note, however, that it’s not too early to start thinking about the Big 12 championship. Missouri is 12-2 in conference play and tied with Kansas for first place with a Feb. 25 showdown in Lawrence looming.

“It would be nice to see them win the (Big 12) championship, and that takes some doing because you’re playing on other teams’ courts half the time,” Stewart said.

But while Stewart acknowledges that the ending to Missouri’s season has yet to be written, one thing is for sure: He and his group of buddies in California will continue to watch, all the while enjoying the ride.

“We had about 30 (people) at one time, and we dwindled down to about eight,” Stewart said of the group. “But now we’ve grown again, and we’re back to normal.”