SEASON OUTLOOK — Exciting, explosive player who will play a key role in MU’s fortunes this year ... A very versatile and athletic talent who can help the Tigers in numerous ways, whether it be defense, rebounding or scoring ... Should contribute primarily at small forward, but can move to the four position when needed, and has improved his outside shooting to play on the perimeter, as well ... Has outstanding leaping ability and a knack to make incredible “highlight-reel” plays, including high-flying dunks and blocked shots ... Is a tough competitor who sometimes risks injury with his hustling, all-out style of play which quickly made him a crowd favorite of MU fans ... Excels at driving to basket and finishing strong, and handles ball well with either hand ... Was married to high school sweetheart, the former Anne Moore on May 29 in Joplin.
1998-99 SEASON — Averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in his junior campaign ... Was hampered by various injuries throughout the season which forced him to miss a total of four games ... Despite the injuries, still showed his value by ranking among the team’s top five in assists, steals, blocked shots and was 2nd in field goal percentage ... Started last four regular-season games ... Scored 11 points in just 14 minutes vs. Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament, with all 11 points coming in the second half as the Tigers rallied from a 22-point deficit ... Missed three straight games (Feb. 3 through Feb. 8) due to a deep thigh bruise suffered against Baylor on Jan. 30th ... Returned to lineup on Feb. 13th against Colorado, and helped spark Tigers to big win, with a season-high 12 points ... Earlier in the year, missed a Dec. 9th game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, due to ankle and back injuries ... Had a huge game in MU’s win at #19 Kansas on Jan. 24th, scoring 11 points, and adding 4 assists (no turnovers), 2 steals, and a school-record-tying 5 blocked shots ... Notched his second straight double-figure scoring game the next time out, with 10 points against Kansas State ... Helped key MU win against Illinois on Dec. 22nd, with 7 points (all in the second half), and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds ... Ranks among Big 12 leaders in steals (11th -- 1.7) and assist/turnover ratio (11th in league play only -- 1.72) ... Shot a solid 49.1% from the floor on the season, an improvement from 46.2% from a year ago ... Needs just 1 more point to reach 500 for his Tiger career, and needs 3 rebounds to reach 300 for his career ... Prior to the season, was selected to Big 12’s all-star team which toured Europe in August ... Averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds a game for the Big 12 team, which went 4-2 playing against foreign teams in England, Belgium and Germany.
1997-98 SEASON — Stayed away from the injury bug which limited him so much as a freshman, and posted similar numbers to his solid freshman season ... Averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, making 24 starts in 31 appearances ... Led MU in field goal percentage (46.2), was second in steals (42), third in assists (67), and third in blocked shots (10), and was one of just three Tigers to have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1-to-1) ... Led team with 14 dunks ... Scored in double figures seven times, including a career-high 18 points on Dec. 2 against Coppin State, hitting 7-of-13 field goals, including 3-of-6 from three-point range ... Had 10 points (on 5-of-6 FGs) and added season-high seven rebounds and career-high six steals Feb. 18 in MU’s overtime loss at Nebraska ... Hit 3-of-4 free throws in game’s final moments in win over Illinois, and added two late steals, to help seal victory ... Missed MU’s NIT game against Alabama-Birmingham after suffering subluxed patella in left knee in practice the day before the game.
1996-97 SEASON **Big 12 All-Freshman Team** — Multi-talented freshman whose hard-luck battle with numerous injuries over last half of the season cost him a chance at league freshman-of-the-year honors ... Proved to be Tigers’ most explosive athlete when healthy, with numerous highlight-reel dunks, and led team with 16 dunks and 36 steals, the latter of which broke MU freshman steal record held by Anthony Peeler ... Despite injuries, which held him out of seven games, and forced him to play with a soft cast on his left wrist for the last eight games, still ranked among top three Big 12 freshmen in nearly all statistical categories, including scoring (6.7), rebounding (3.7) and assists (2.0) ... Battled back to play key role in MU’s run through Big 12 Tournament ... Started all four games in tourney, and averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game ... Scored 10 points in quarterfinal win over Texas, and also had 9 rebounds in opening-round win over Nebraska ... Prior to injuries, had scored in double figures in five of six games (12-28 thru 1-14) ... Was scoring at 8.0 points-per-game clip prior to injuries, and just 4.5 after ... Was named Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week for those two games, in which he averaged 12.0 points on 11-of-15 shooting (.733), 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals.
IN HIGH SCHOOL — Attended Joplin High School, where he was a first-team all-State selection as a senior ... Averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 3.8 steals per game ... Averaged 19.5 points and 5.1 rebounds a contest as a junior ... Was a McDonald’s All-American nominee ... Named to Hoosier-Lottery-Reebok All-American team following outstanding camp performance over the summer in Indianapolis.
PERSONAL — Majoring in education ... Chose MU over Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri State ... Hobbies — watching sporting events, water sports and Sega ... High school coach — Jeff Starkweather ... Parents — Greg and Deb Hafer ... Father is a college professor, while mother is the director of public relations at Ozark Christian College ... Brother Jeremy played basketball at Columbia College, and served one year as a manager for the Tiger basketball team ... Born August 2, 1977, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
HAFER CAREER HIGHS
Points: 18 vs. Coppin State, 12/2/97
FG Made: 7 vs. Coppin State, 12/2/97
FG Att: 13 vs. Coppin State, 12/2/97
3FG Made: 3 vs. Coppin State, 12/2/97
3FG Att: 6 vs. Coppin State, 12/2/97
FT Made: 6, three times
FT Att: 8, four times
Rebounds: 10 vs. Illinois, 12/22/98
Assists: 6, two times
Blocks: 5 at Kansas, 1/24/99
Steals: 6 at Nebraska, 2/18/98
Turnovers: 7 at Arkansas, 12/6/97
HAFER’S CAREER STATS AT MIZZOU
SEASON G-GS MIN MPG FG-A FG% 3FG-A 3FG% FT-A FT% REB AVG. A TO BS S PF-D TP AVG.
1996-97 26-8 546 21.0 66-129 .512 3-17 .176 38-61 .623 97 3.7 53 49 13 36 57-0 173 6.7
1997-98 31-24 835 26.9 72-156 .462 7-29 .241 29-38 .763 104 3.4 67 58 10 42 70-1 180 5.8
1998-99 25-8 611 24.4 54-110 .491 4-9 .444 34-50 .680 96 3.8 49 40 16 43 68-5 146 5.8
Totals 82-40 1991 24.3 192-395 .486 14-55 .255 101-149 .678 297 3.6 169 147 39 121 195-6 499 6.1
HAFER’S CONFERENCE STATS AT MIZZOU
SEASON G-GS MIN MPG FG-A FG% 3FG-A 3FG% FT-A FT% REB AVG. A TO BS S PF-D TP AVG.
1996-97 10-2 194 19.4 26-45 .578 0-2 .000 6-12 .500 29 2.9 20 14 4 12 22-0 58 5.8
1997-98 16-14 420 26.3 32-67 .478 2-12 .167 13-19 .684 47 2.9 38 25 2 21 40-1 79 4.9
1998-99 13-7 360 27.7 28-57 .491 3-6 .500 23-31 .742 52 4.0 31 18 12 22 36-2 82 6.3
Totals 39-23 974 25.0 86-169 .509 5-20 .250 42-62 .677 128 3.3 89 57 18 55 98-3 219 5.6
