De Smet's Moeller To Walk On At Mizzou

The Missouri Tigers Men's Basketball program picked up a number two seed in the NCAA tournament Sunday, and also added a big man to the fall recruiting class.

Spartan Center Eric Moeller was at Mizzou Arena for the team's Selection Sunday celebration and after returning home decided to accept MU's offer to join the team as a preferred walk-on. He plans to sit next season as a redshirt, but will travel with the team and be on the roster. Moeller averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block per game this past season for De Smet.

Moeller made several trips to the MU campus after he said coaches discovered him while they were recruiting , a junior forward who has given a verbal pledge to Butler. The offer to walk on for Moeller, who lives in Ladue, came in late February.

"It was not easy to pass up a scholarship to other schools," Moeller, who at various times had offers from Arkansas State, the University of Denver and Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers.

He said the comfort of being close to home was a big factor, as was the opportunity to gain weight and build strength under the MU coaching and training staff.

Once that happens in a few years, Moeller said he's hopeful of receiving a scholarship.

Moeller wasn't the only recruit in attendance Sunday. He said he was with small forward Dovanta Pollard, out of Mississippi. Pollard is ranked by Rivals.com as a Top 10 player in the class of 2012 and has offers from Missouri, Georgetown, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Texas.