Family ties help Sandifer decide

For months, Missouri fans have been anticipating the basketball Class of 2014. Frank Haith got his first commitment for the class on Friday when Chris Sandifer gave Haith his pledge following an unofficial visit to Columbia.

"Watching film with the coaches showed me, like where I could fit in in their system and where I could flourish," he said. "I felt like it was the best opportunity for me to get better. I feel like Missouri can prepare me to take my game to the next level and help me get to the NBA."

While Sandifer is from Los Angeles, he is plenty familiar with the Mizzou program and the Show-Me State.

"My family being from St. Louis made it a good fit," he said. "My grandparents, my cousins, my aunt and uncles, everybody pretty much is from St. Louis. It's going to be cool being close to them. My cousin played for Missouri and was with me on my visit. He was real excited when I decided to commit."


Sandifer's cousin is Steve Weaver, who played a handful of games for the Tigers as a walk-on from 1999-2001. Sandifer won't be walking on. He chose an offer from the Tigers over interest from Colorado, Minnesota, San Diego State, Washington State, St. Louis, Washington and Marquette.


Sandifer is ranked as the No. 88 overall prospect in the newly released Rivals150 and is a four-star recruit, Haith's fourth in the last two years. And that ranking could rise over the next few months before he signs a Letter of Intent, according to Rivals.com national analyst Eric Bossi:


"Sandifer is a swingman with good size and good athleticism. Sandifer is a streak scorer who tends to live and die a bit by his jump shot. When he's got it rolling, he puts up a lot of points in a hurry but when he's not on he can start forcing things and hurt his team at times. He has a live body and can finish at the rim and if he worked on his ball handling and added more driving to his game then his stock could go up even more. 

He's a bit on the lean side, but a college element should help him add a new level of explosiveness. If he buys into improving his shot selection and ball handling, then Sandifer could make a nice rise. Bottom line, he's a legitimate high major prospect who is a bit of an unfinished, raw prospect that could really be developed into a pretty significant contributor."

Sandifer offered up his own self-scouting report too: "I'm a scoring guard. I like to score the ball and get to the rim. I can create for myself or my teammates. I can catch and shoot and create off the dribble. I do whatever I can to help my team win."


The 6-foot-6 shooting guard is playing with the Oakland Soldiers this summer. The team will play in the Peach Jam next month. Sandifer said he is done with recruiting and will take no more visits.

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