Keith Shamburger and Keanau Post likely won't be remembered as top players in Missouri basketball history.
But for Kim Anderson, the duo have been valuable veterans on a young squad in his first season as the head coach of the Tigers. The two will be recognized on Senior Night as Missouri (8-21 overall, 2-14 Southeastern Conference) closes out its home schedule against Auburn (12-17, 4-12) at Mizzou Arena (8 p.m., SEC Network).
Shamburger, a transfer from Hawaii, has proven to be a steadying influence on a young team in what will be his lone season at Missouri.
"The one thing that I can say about him is he is a competitor," Anderson said Monday during the SEC's weekly coaches teleconference. "He's brought a lot to the floor for this team.
"The best word to describe him is stable. I'm glad I had the opportunity to coach him."
Shamburger, a 5-foot-11 guard, has had to carry the load at point guard for the Tigers since the season-ending injury to Wes Clark.
"He's been a tremendous addition, as it turned out, he's had to play big minutes," Anderson said.
Shamburger has started all 29 games for the Tigers and averages 34.5 minutes per contest. He tops the team with 3.9 assists to go with 2.0 turnovers while averaging 8.3 points.
Post, a 6-11 forward transfer from Southwestern Illinois Community College, is in his second year at Missouri. It took some time for Post and Anderson to get on the same page this season, but the senior has played in 27 games and is averaging 4.0 points and 3.4 rebounds.
"I wish I had him another year, I think he's getting to where he has some confidence again," Anderson said.
This is the second meeting for Missouri and Auburn this season. Auburn defeated Missouri 85-79 at home on Jan. 10, the second SEC game for both teams.
Missouri led by eight points early in the second half of that game before Auburn rallied with an 11-0 run late to pick up the victory.
"We played pretty well against them last time, we had an opportunity to win the game," Anderson said.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said he likes what he has seen out of Missouri since the first meeting.
"They continue to play really hard, I like what they do and I like their personnel," Pearl said during the teleconference. "They are not as deep in the backcourt without Clark. But beyond that, they have a lot of options and the stuff they run is hard to guard.
"Kim has put them in position to win on some nights when you wouldn't expect it. I think the future of Missouri basketball looks very bright."
Pearl has had a different first year at Auburn than Anderson has had at Missouri. Auburn brought in some experienced players to fill positions as opposed to Missouri's heavy recruitment of freshmen.
"We put together a roster that could compete, even though the results are not what we wanted, we have been able to win some games that most people didn't think we could win," Pearl said.
"I'd love to have a large talented freshman class to get that process started sooner. The beginning for us on the court will begin next year."
K.T. Harrell leads Auburn, which is just 2-9 in road games, at 17.7 points per game. Auburn will be without second-leading scorer Antoine Mason (15.1 ppg), whose father, former NBA player Anthony Mason, passed away Saturday.
One woe for Auburn is it has been outrebounded by an average of five per game.
Auburn is currently 13th in the conference standings, one spot ahead of Missouri.
Missouri will close the regular season Saturday at Mississippi State.