The University of Mississippi Athletics
Meet The Women's Hoops Freshmen: Amber Singletary
10/20/2011 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 20, 2011
OXFORD, Miss. - Freshman point guard Amber Singletary chose to come to Ole Miss to get away from home and experience something new.
And the Baltimore, Md., native couldn't be happier with her choice.
"I picked Ole Miss because it's a lot different from where I'm from in Baltimore which is what I wanted," Singletary said. "I really like it here and I think I made a good decision. Practice is good and I'm getting used to it which is making it better. I like playing for coach Ladner and she hasn't changed from how she was on my visit. Some coaches are real nice to you until you get to the school but coach Ladner has been the same the whole time."
Singletary, a 5-9 point from Seaton Keough High School in Baltimore, Md., was a McDonald's High School All-America nominee and she ended her high school career with 1,017 points. In addition, Singletary helped her high school team reach the championship game three of her four seasons.
Singletary got introduced to basketball at the age of four when she went with her sister to their father's practices and games. As a freshman on varsity her first year of high school, Singletary was mentored by a senior, BJ Williams, who is a senior guard at Temple.
"When I was a freshman on varsity in high school, there was a point guard named BJ and she was so good," Singletary said. "She was a senior so I only got to play with her one year but she showed me what it took to go to the next level. She really set the tone for me and the beginning of my basketball career and she was the reason I decided to play in college."
Singletary is adjusting to playing point guard this season. In high school, and when she played AAU, she was a shooting guard but she said the transition to point guard is going well and credits fellow point guard Valencia McFarland and her teammates for helping her learn.
"I never was a point guard, I was always a shooting guard but then I got to college and I realized how small I am," Singletary said. "I used to be one of the tallest players on the team and then I got to college and realized I'm little. It's hard playing behind Valencia because she's really good but she makes me better every day. Valencia helps me and the upperclassmen help me. My teammates make the transition easier on me."
Since she came to Ole Miss, some of her favorite moments have been with her teammates during the team's trip to Canada in August, anytime spent with fellow freshman Mo Jackson and her teammates. In addition, Singletary loves playing for head coach Renee Ladner.
"Coach Ladner expects a lot but it's nothing that you can't handle," she said. "She wants a lot from each of us especially the freshmen since we are a young team but I love playing for her. She's fiery everyday even with a practice at 6 a.m. She doesn't take favorites and everybody gets the same treatment which is what I like about her, she's fair."
