MMBOW #11: Brandon Temple, Missouri-Kansas City

Brandon is a 6'1", 180 lb. senior combo-G who hails from Raleigh. His primary MMBOW credential is his sparkling 25-point effort (a career high) in a home win over league rival IUPUI last Thursday - a game in which he hit nine of 15 shots, made all four of his freebies, and grabbed four boards for good measure. Earlier in the week, he dropped 18 in a play-down against D2 South Dakota State.

Brandon played his first two years of college ball at Southwest Missouri State University-West Plains, where he earned the school's all-time assist record with 332 (12 per game). He sat out the 2002-03 season to transfer to UMKC; last season, his 112 assists were the second-most in school history. With this year's arrival of Southern California transfer Quinton Day, Temple has been freed up to play more two-guard while Day handles the bulk of the assist-work.

Now he's the second-leading scorer (with 14.6 a game) on a team whose starting five all average in double figures, and has doubled a nine points-per-game average last month to a highly respectable 18 in January. He's also emerged as the Kangaroos' primary three-point threat, nailing over 37% of his eight-or-so shots per game. Along with Day and Creighton transfer Tim Blackwell (10.7 ppg), the Kangaroo backcourt has presented nightmares for perimeter defenses all over the Mid-Con, and opposing teams still have to worry about slashing forward Mike English (16.5 ppg) and round mounda' Carlton Aaron (12.9 ppg) down low.

He was a four-year letterman in hoops (as well as a track star) at Wake Forest-Rolesville H.S., and made first team All-North Carolina in his senior season. He'd like nothing more for his 23rd birthday on February 26 than a road win at faraway Southern Utah; his 'Roos will probably know where they stand vis a vis on that date, as they will have played overwhelming pre-season conference favorite Oral Roberts twice by then. For now, UMKC is enjoying the view from the top of the Mid-Con.