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(AP) -- Ricardo Ratliffe was an eighth-grader
before playing competitively. He has beefed up No. 11 Missouri's
inside game as one of the top junior college recruits.

The junior is averaging 12.8 points and seven rebounds since the
Tigers (17-3, 3-2 Big 12) began conference play. He's been an
intimidator at times with a pair of six-block games, the latest in
Saturday night's rout of Iowa State, to go with a feisty offensive
game around the lane.

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Ratliffe was so good during his two-year
stint at Central Florida Community College that his jersey now
hangs from the rafters. He averaged 27.4 points and 11.3 rebounds
as a sophomore and with 855 points broke his own school record from
the previous season.

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