To describe Jason Conley’s soap opera months at Missouri, head coach Quin Snyder borrows a line from a popular daytime drama.

“I think Jason’s been waiting, he’s been looking at the sands of the hourglass going through there for months and months now,” Snyder said.

These are the days of their lives. For Conley and fellow Tiger transfer Randy Pulley, all those days have been leading up to one day: Sunday.

“It’s been a long wait,” Conley said on Thursday. “It’s been tough, but it’s here now. It seems like the wait now is harder because I’m so close to the time.”

For those Tiger fans not paying attention the last few weeks, Conley, a high-flying wingman, and Pulley, a pass-first point guard, will make their Missouri debuts on Sunday against UNC-Greensboro.

Conley has garnered many of the headlines. After all, he did lead the nation in scoring as a freshman at Virginia Military Institute. He hung more than 20 points on the likes of Virginia Tech, Virginia and Kentucky. He scored 38 against Villanova.

The numbers are great. That just won’t be his role at Missouri. At least not yet.

“Everybody thinks I’m gonna come in and score a whole bunch of points, but they might be fooled,” said Conley. “My main focus is to come in and help out on defense. If we’re playing against somebody who can score, I want to come in and shut them down and give (Rickey Paulding) a break. I want to come in, play defense and as far as my offense goes, if it comes, it comes.”

“I don’t think there’s anybody that’s averaged over 25 points in our league in the last ten years,” Snyder said. “But, relatively speaking, Jason can score the ball and he’ll have opportunities to score the ball.”

But for all the headlines Conley has generated, it might be Pulley that is more needed on this team. The Tigers have turned the ball over more than a cook at your local IHOP flips flapjacks. They have a converted shooting guard and a true freshman trying to run the point.

“Randy, he’s definitely a pass first kind of guy,” said shooting guard Josh Kroenke, who figures to be one of a handful of players who will sacrifice a few minutes to the new duo. “He’s what you call a true point guard. Very strong, he has good handles, he’s not afraid to attack the lane and dish off to guys. It could be more of a benefit than having Jason Conley, what an outstanding player he is, he’s something we already have, we have a lot of wings. He’s gonna come in and give us a huge lift just being there, but Pulley’s impact could be immediate.”

Pulley won’t put such a burden on himself. A man of few words, the former St. Louis Billiken gets right to the point when you ask him of his role on the team.

“Probably just more pushing the ball up the court, get more easy baskets,” he said. “We didn’t get a lot of easy baskets the last couple games. That’s what I can do.”

“I think for Randy to really focus on pressuring the basketball, with his strength and explosiveness, he’s got to be a great on-ball defender,” Snyder said.

We’ve heard this “point guard of the future” argument before. So has every current Tiger. They heard it with Wesley Stokes, they heard it with Ricky Clemons, now they hear it with Pulley. So why should it be believed this time around?

“Pass first. He passes. He’s definitely a passing guy,” said Travon Bryant, making sure to drive his point home. “That’s a good thing about him. We have a lot of players around him who can score. He realizes that.”

But for the Tigers involved, it’s not a matter of who can help more, just who can help.

“It’s not an individual thing,” Conley said. “We all know that he’s a good point guard and we all know that I can come in and help, but right now me and Pulley are thinking about what we can do to win.”

Both will get their chances, of that there’s no doubt. Just how early and how often, no one knows. Not even the coach.

“I’m going to go home tonight and get out the ouija board and just try to figure it out,” Snyder joked before giving his real answer. “I think they both can really help us…I don’t think our players are under the illusion that they’re not going to play. The competition is good and our guys have embraced that as opposed to looking over their shoulder. I don’t want guys looking over their shoulder, I just want them battling.”

The battles will begin almost immediately. Following a tune-up against UNC-Greensboro at the Hearnes Center, Conley and Pulley will be thrown into the fire against Illinois in the annual Braggin’ Rights game on December 23rd. A roadie against Memphis and a home game against Iowa precede the start of Big 12 play. So the butterflies will have to make an early exit, something neither player thinks will be a problem.

“It will be my first game representing the state of Missouri. I can’t even talk about how anxious I’ll be to play,” Pulley said. “After the jump ball, I’ll be all right.”

“I think I’ll be nervous for the first ten seconds, but I think after we get going, I’ll be good to go,” adds Conley.

He’d better be. On Sunday, the hourglass will be empty.