Bobcat Men Sign Point Guard

[GOKATS]

This looks like a great recruit.

From MSU-

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Rod Singleton’s last two coaches characterize him as a “coach’s dream”, and Montana State coach Brad Huse, the next to call Singleton his point guard, couldn’t be happier.

Singleton joined the Bobcat program Monday, when the Los Angeles native signed a National Letter-of-Intent to attend Montana State University next fall. The 5-10 transfer from Antelope Valley College averaged 14.2 points and 2.8 assists at the Lancaster, Calif., school last season. He earned First Team All-Foothill Conference honors in both his seasons in the program, and Huse praised Singleton as a player and person.

“It’s reassuring to add an experienced winner like Rod,” Huse said. “I’ve watched him over the past couple of years and his toughness and grit have always stood out. He’s a tremendous team player, a great passer, and can really score when needed. When you sum it up with Rod, it’s all about winning and he’ll do whatever is required to have success.”

A veteran junior college coach who joined the USC staff as an assistant after the 2009-10 season, Dieter Horton called Singleton a unique player. “He is one of the toughest kids that anyone has ever seen,” said Horton, who coached Singleton the past two seasons at Antelope Valley. “He absolutely is a joy to be around. He is going to come in and do a phenomenal job at Montana State. His sheer toughness and will to compete is about as good as anyone I’ve coached in my 14 years at the intercollegiate level. He’s a winner, that’s the bottom line. He’s a flat-out winner.”

Horton said Singleton’s numbers were skewed by his role at Antelope Valley over the past two seasons. “He had to do more scoring” at Antelope Valley, Horton said. “A lot of times he was on a different level than the other kids and that hurt his assist-turnover ratio. I know he looks forward to really upping his assist total (at MSU).”

Citing his strength and basketball intelligence, Horton said Singleton is the complete package. “He really gets up and down the floor,” Horton said. “He has exceptional quickness. His basketball IQ is exceptionally high. He has ability to create and run the floor, and I know he will (succeed at MSU because he) played for one of the best high school programs in the nation and one of best junior college programs in the nation. He can flat-our guard. He’s a fantastic on-ball defender, as well as off-ball defender. In my opinion, he is a steal for (Montana State).”

The 5-10 guard was a highly-decorated performer at Fairfax High in Los Angeles, helping lead his 2007 squad to a Los Angeles City Championship and a California State title. He was a senior captain that season, earning first team all-city and all-league honors and honorable mention all-state kudos.

His high school coach echoed Huse and Horton. “Rod is the epitome of a true point guard,” said Fairfax coach Harvey Kitani. “He is a coach’s delight. He has tremendous character, his leadership is outstanding. Montana State will do well with Rod as the point guard. He is quick, defends, hits the open shot, and also will finish attacking the basket as well. He can score points for you and more importantly will win for you. Everyone that supports the program there will really enjoy having Rod at Montana Sta.”

Singleton adds perimeter experience to a youthful 2010 Bobcat team. “Our league is full of very good guards and it’s encouraging to know we have an accomplished player like Rod to add to add to that mix,” Huse said. “Rod has played in highly successful programs and for outstanding coaches dating back to high school, so we’re benefiting from that. His past coaches all use words and phrases such as high character, winner, and toughness. I have no doubt that Rod will step in and be a leader for us on and off the court and he’ll be someone our fans will really enjoy watching. Our roster will include a number of freshman and it is encouraging to have seniors like Bobby Howard, Erik Rush, and Danny Piepoli, and juniors Cody Anderson, Jourdain Allou, and Rod Singleton leading them.”





MSU SIGNEES – SPRING 2010

Rod Singleton, G -– 5-10, 185, Jr, Los Angeles, CA (Antelope Valley College/Fairfax)

Jourdain Allou, F -– 6-7, 200, Jr, Ivory Coast, Africa (Navarro, Tex., College)

Tre Johnson, F -– 6-7, 200, Fr, Reno, NV (Hug)

Jordan Salley, P -– 6-7, 240, Fr, Glendora, CA (LaVerne Lutheran)



MSU SIGNEES – FALL 2009

Blake Brumwell, C -- 6-8, Fr, Big Sandy, MT (Big Sandy)

Chris McCall, G -- 6-3, Fr, Las Vegas, NV (Cheyenne)

Shawn Reid, F -- 6-5, Fr, Post Falls, ID (Post Falls)

Casey Trujeque, G -- 5-8, Fr, Los Angeles, CA (Price)



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From MSU-

[wbtfg]

Excellent news...definitely sounds like a Huse type guy.

[mslacat]

I have a little more info and pictuers, on Bobcat signee Rod Singleton on my blog. The interesting thing to me is that according to a couple sites he was offered by Utah State, Boise State, Cal State Northridge as well as a couple Big Sky schools as well as getting some interest from USC, Oklahoma, Baylor and Texas.

http://mslacat.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HelenaCat]

I have a little more info and pictuers, on Bobcat signee Rod Singleton on my blog. The interesting thing to me is that according to a couple sites he was offered by Utah State, Boise State, Cal State Northridge as well as a couple Big Sky schools as well as getting some interest from USC, Oklahoma, Baylor and Texas.

http://mslacat.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sounds better to me than the kid we lost to Boise State

[grizgirl]

I have a little more info and pictuers, on Bobcat signee Rod Singleton on my blog. The interesting thing to me is that according to a couple sites he was offered by Utah State, Boise State, Cal State Northridge as well as a couple Big Sky schools as well as getting some interest from USC, Oklahoma, Baylor and Texas.

http://mslacat.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sounds better to me than the kid we lost to Boise State

I'll say. Easily. I'm amazed after reading up on him that he landed in the Big Sky. Nice pick up. Sounds better than mslacat made him out to be...compares to Marquis Navarre?

[whitetrashgriz]

this was surprising to me because i thought we were out of the running on him months ago. wonder if msla knows what happened. i remember we were all about him this past summer and early fall but then it looked like we had no shot of landing him. i very excited but i'm cautiously wondering what the catch is...

[mslacat]

this was surprising to me because i thought we were out of the running on him months ago. wonder if msla knows what happened. i remember we were all about him this past summer and early fall but then it looked like we had no shot of landing him. i very excited but i'm cautiously wondering what the catch is...

I did not know we were looking at him last summer so I do not know what the difference is. I think Nichols and Singleton are pretty close, even their stats were almost identical. Both are fast quick smallish scoring point guards. Nichols might be a little more explosive offencively , Singleton a little better floor general. Nichols a little quicker, while Singleton a little stronger and more physical. The biggest and most important difference for the Bobcats is that Singleton is a very mentally tough kid. To jump into the the Bobcat system and contributing early you have to be tough and smart to pick the system up especially at the point guard spot. Huse is a taskmaster especially at the point guard spot. All things being equal I would sacrifice a little flashiness for some toughness.

[whitetrashgriz]

i guess just so there is no confusion i didn't KNOW we were after him either. i just recall his name being thrown around quite a bit and in talking to a former cat coach and current assistant coach a while ago he was really high on him and said he thought the cats were too. but he even said at that time that he didn't think either us or any other mid-major would still be in the running because other bigger schools had him on their radar. so i didn't even think twice about him until i saw this thread. but i don't mean to imply that i had any inside info that we offered him or anything. i just assumed we did based on the talk surrounding him at that time. either way i'm pretty excited!

[longhorn_22]

Rivals and Scout gave Rod 2-stars coming out of high school.