Silas roaming to Big 12

One. That's all Xavier Silas needed.

One visit and one extra year. The Texas product is spending a prep year at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire and that extra time spent has helped him draw the attention of the bigger conferences. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound shooting guard recently visited a Big 12 program and saw enough to make a commitment.

Silas is headed west to Colorado. He made his decision shortly after visiting the Big 12 school.

"It's a great atmosphere, right on the mountains," Silas said. "The people are really good to the team. Everything kind of reminded me of Austin (his hometown). It's not as big but it's a nice college town. Everybody supports the Buffs."

He picked the Big 12 school over interest from Nebraska, Colorado, Cal, SMU, Louisiana Tech and Rice. Silas, the son of former ABA star James Silas, averaged 24.8 points per game last year at Austin (Texas) High School.

Silas, who turns 18 in Jan., joins a solid class for the Buffs. Also on board are Jeremy Williams, Dwight Thorne and Dale VanWright. Silas is expecting to help from day one.

"They said I'm projected to start as a freshman and me and (Richard) Roby will be able to play together on the wing," Silas said. "Coach feels like I can step in and he can really teach me on what I need to do to get to the next level."