Jan. 10, 2003

Columbia, Mo.- Spencer Laurie has officially accepted an offer of admission by the University of Missouri, head coach Quin Snyder announced today. Laurie will not sign a letter of intent.

"He is a proven leader on the court who makes his teammates better," Snyder said. "He will immediately upgrade our ball-handling, shooting and defense while giving us added depth at the point guard position. Spencer has made a tremendous sacrifice by offering to initially come to Missouri without a scholarship."

Laurie, a 6-1 guard out of Springfield, Mo., (Kickapoo High School) is currently in his senior year and will come to Mizzou in the fall. He is averaging 17.8 points per contest, which is identical to last year's numbers.

Besides scoring, Laurie is proving to be an extremely multi-faceted player averaging four rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Chiefs, who are the No. 1-ranked team in Missouri Class 5A and are the No. 16-ranked team in the USA Today Super 25 Boys' Basketball Index. Laurie had the best game of his season so far against Republic (Mo.) High School on Dec. 10, where he poured in 33 points, 21 of which came via three-point baskets.

Laurie chose Mizzou over North Carolina State, Minnesota and Southwest Missouri State.