Nov. 16, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - University of Missouri basketball coach Quin Snyder announced on Tuesday that Leo Criswell has signed a national letter of intent and will attend the University of Missouri next year. He is the third and final member of the Tigers' 2005-06 recruiting class, joining Keaton Grant (guard, Kissimmee, FL) and Matt Lawrence (forward, St. Louis, MO) in next year's class. Snyder believes Criswell will be an impact player for Missouri in the upcoming years.

"From the moment Coach (Melvin) Watkins and I met with Leo and his mother in Kansas City, we knew he was the kind of quality-character young man we wanted in our program," Coach Snyder said. "Leo has the talent and tremendous versatility to be a great player and we are excited to have the opportunity to continue his development as a player and a person."

Criswell (6-9, 225) averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds as a junior at Kansas City (Ks.) Piper before transferring to Coastal Christian Academy in Virginia Beach. He is ranked as the No. 26 forward in the country by Rivalhoops.com and is ranked as a Top 50 national recruit (No. 48 - Prepstars.com) by several different recruiting services.

Criswell was recruited by several schools and chose Mizzou over Kentucky, UNLV and St. John's. For more information on Missouri Basketball, log on to www.mutigers.com