Big guard ready to shine in Big 12

For one Big 12 school, it paid to be first in line. Chris Singletary saw the loyalty and decided he was ready to take his game to the next level. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound combo guard from Chicago pulled the trigger on Monday and committed.

Singletary pledged his services to the Missouri Tigers. Head coach Quin Snyder made it out to North Carolina to see the three-star guard in the Bull City Classic. While there, Singletary helped pilot his Florida Prep team to two wins in front of Snyder. Shortly after, Singletary knew it was time to commit.

"One of the big things was having their support and in talking with me, they were very honest with how they saw me in their program," Singletary said. "They've been in the most consistent with me from the beginning. They came up to see me at the Bull City Classic and coach (Melvin) Watkins and coach (Lance) Irvin (a Chicago native) helped me a lot."

Matt Ramker, director of basketball operations at Florida Prep, said Irvin had a lot to do with Singletary's decision.

"The Irvin family has been very supportive and influential to Chris in the last couple of years," Ramker said. "They were one of the reasons why he came here to Florida Prep and I think it makes sense for Chris to go back with Lance to Missouri."

One of the strongest guards in the country, Singletary is a perfect fit in the Big 12's physical style of play. He said the Tigers plan on using him as a combo guard in their system.

"I was looking at all of the good guards that came out of the Big 12 and they have some pretty nice players that played there," Singletary said. "I felt like it was a good place for me to go and take me talents to the next level."

Singletary said he's looking forward to playing against a former Chicago city league foe in Big 12 play.

"I can't wait to see Sherron Collins," Singletary said. "He and I played against each other and now we'll be able to do it in college."