Missouri basketball team officially adds point guard Keith Shamburger

Missouri announced Tuesday that former Hawaii point guard Keith Shamburger had signed a financial aid agreement and is expected to play for the Tigers next season.

Shamburger, who started his career at San Jose State, is in the process of completing his degree at Hawaii and, if he enrolls as a graduate student at Missouri, should be eligible this season.

Shamburger, who led the Big West Conference in assists last season, brings a sorely needed veteran presence to the Tigers’ backcourt. He joins sophomore Wes Clark as the team’s primary ball-handlers.

“Keith is going to be a great addition to our program,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said in a release from MU. “He gives us some poise and experience in the backcourt and has been one of the top assist guys on his team each of his three years at the college level. … Obviously, we needed some depth at the point and now, with Wes and Keith, we feel like we have two talented guys at that all-important spot and they could even be on the floor at the same time.”

Shamburger, a 5-foot-11 and 170-pound Los Angeles native, averaged 9.3 points and 5.4 assists last season at Hawaii. He averaged 12.7 points and 3.7 assists in 63 games, all starts, at San Jose State as a freshman and sophomore.

“I’m excited to be joining Mizzou, and after playing that game in Kansas City last year, seeing the fans, seeing the support and seeing how much the players felt a part of that school, it really opened my eyes,” Shamburger said.

He added, “I’m coming here to do whatever coach Anderson needs from me. I feel like I have some experience, some maturity and I want to be a guy that can help these young guys out in the backcourt. I want to do whatever I can to help us win.”

Shamburger — who chose the Tigers over Maryland, Auburn and Tennessee — started 30 of 31 games last season for the Warriors and scored 12 points with three rebounds and two assists in a November loss to Missouri at the Sprint Center.

“I really want to say how much I appreciate Hawaii,” Shamburger continued. “The people and my teammates were fantastic, but the chance to play for Missouri and have that experience again (like the one in Kansas City) was too good to pass up.”

Missouri has lost two transfers, Negus Webster-Chan and Stefan Jankovic, to Hawaii in the last two seasons, but Shamburger said a conversation with former Tigers shooting guard Jabari Brown crystallized his decision.

This story was originally published June 17, 2014 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Missouri basketball team officially adds point guard Keith Shamburger."