Playing for Her People: The Tamar Singer Story

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Some days, 100% of Tamar Singer's mental focus is on basketball practice.

After all, the 5-foot-4 freshman point guard has plenty to learn from head coach Glenn Box and his staff about what it takes to succeed and win at the Division I college basketball level. With the Nov. 4 season opener against Appalachian State less than two weeks away, there are a myriad of concepts, plays and details to memorize and fine-tune before the Mountaineers visit Millett Hall.

However, there are other days in the gym where Singer's mind is a million miles away.

Or, to be precise, 6,000 miles and seven time zones away.

That's because the native of Haifa, Israel is doing her best to balance being a student-athlete in the midwestern United States while her family is enduring a war in the Middle East.

"It started in the north [of Israel] in September when I came here, so it's tough," Singer said. "I have days that my mind is there, not here. I open my day with the news, taking my phone and just looking: What happened? What's going on? I'll wake up in the middle of the night, see something, and then wait until they answer me.

"I'm always thinking about it, but they're helping me. I think I'm more nervous than them, because when you're so far [away], it's difficult."

Singer is able to talk to her family and friends every day before or after practice, which serves to ease her concern in Oxford and know that all is well in Haifa. "It helps me to still be there with them and feel," she explained. "My father will text me and say, 'Okay, we're eating dinner. Do you want to be with us?' And then they just call me and set the phone [on the table] and I'm there with them.'"

Still, Singer —who previously served two years in the Israeli military herself after high school— is all too aware that her father, mother, older brother and younger sister live with the constant danger and threat of bombs that can seemingly come from any direction. "Basically every house and every place has a safe room, and you have between 45 seconds and one minute to go to the safe room," she said. "But if you're outside? You just need to pray for your life. You're laying on the ground, putting hands on your head, and just praying that it's going to be fine.

"It's happened to my sister in the middle of driver's lessons. My father took the dog on a walk and it's happened in the middle. Things you can't imagine….

"I'm happy that I'm not there, but I want to be there with them. It's hard to be far."

Singer credited her Miami teammates and coaches for how they've encouraged and supported her as she navigates the worry of being on the other side of the world from her family's day-to-day uncertainties.

"I'm from Israel. That's who I am. This is my country, and it will always be part of me," she said. "I like it when people ask me questions and want to know… Tamar Singer

"With this team, it's amazing how they're always just here for me and asking…Amber [Tretter] came one day and opened a map, and said, 'Okay, explain what's going on.'" Kresh [Lakresha Edwards] asked, 'From where? What was the problem? What happened?'…

"It's so important for me that the coaches know, and everyone is around me helping."

"Because she's so likeable, her teammates have rallied around her," Box said. "They have a different perspective than if they didn't have an Israeli on the team: an understanding that something actually is going on over on the other side of the world. They've been very empathetic towards her, trying to give her what she needs in those dark moments.

"We all do our best to make her feel good and make her feel comfortable, because we can only try to understand what it's really like for her…

"The thing I try to remind her is that her people back home want her to succeed. She's playing for a lot of people back home…that are rallying behind her and really want her to do well."

On the court, Singer is looking forward to bringing her playmaking skills to a Miami team that's trying to advance to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland for the first time since 2019. Although she wasn't sure at first that she wanted to pursue college basketball (despite years of high-level experience competing for both her club and the national team), Singer hit it off with Box from their first video call and the recruiting process went quickly from there.

"It just felt right from the first conversation," Singer recounted. "I was in the mall in Israel, and I asked my mom, 'Should I answer?' I was afraid [because of] my English.

Glenn Box and Tamar Singer

"But we talked for 45 minutes. My mom had ordered food and she texted me after 20 minutes to tell me the food was there, and I said, 'I don't care. It's a good conversation!'

"I was so happy after that… I just felt like this is the right place for me to be better, to improve and to reach for my goals."

Singer signed with the RedHawks in April before coming to campus with her parents to visit for the first time (a trip that involved multiple canceled flights and ended up re-routed through Greece due to the war in her homeland). "It took two days to get here, but it was the best decision I made. I wanted my parents to see the place, be sure I'm in the right place with the right people and know that I'm in good hands," she said.

Singer hasn't declared an academic major yet, but would love to find a career working with kids someday. Four years of coaching youth basketball in Israel helped her realize her passion for working with the next generation.

"I was like a big sister," Singer smiled. "I was just there for them…my 'babies.'" One of her favorite moments as a coach came when a player on her team chose to wear Singer's jersey number. "She came and said, 'I want number 13 – like you!'", Singer recalled. "I thought, 'Okay, I did my job!'"

After averaging 10 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals per game last season in Israel's Division A, Singer hopes to make a similar impact in the MAC wearing the Red and White, but knows there will be an adjustment to playing at the Division I level. However, while there will undoubtedly be some ups and downs that come with being a freshman point guard, Singer isn't intimidated. With the benefit of a lifetime worth of 'playing up' —she joined her club's under-16 team as an 11-year-old, graduated to the U-18 level at age 13, and made her U-20 debut before turning 16— she is ready to attack the next challenge.

"I was the little one always. But I like it," Singer laughed. "And Coach Box told me before I came here, it's a different tempo…but I'm learning how to play fast. It's not there yet, but I'm improving myself and our team is getting better together…

"As a point guard, my job is to help the other players be better. We want to be in the tournament. We want to take the championship. We want to be better…

"My main goal is to finish these four years a better player. To know that I came here one thing and I'm going out as a different player in another level."

Watch a few minutes of a Miami preseason practice and it's easy to see why the RedHawks are so excited about the skill set Singer brings to the program.

"She brings absolute leadership…and the quick-twitch ability to get in the paint and make passes that a lot of people can't make," Box said. "She's a real point guard: Kind of a throwback in that she's pass-first, but she's more than capable of making plays, making shots and finishing at the rim…

"She's capable of getting hot, putting a team on her back and carrying it through stretches…literally making other people better."

If all goes according to plan for Singer and her family, her mother and father will get to watch that happen firsthand, as each parent is scheduled to make a visit to southwestern Ohio before the season ends.

But until the rest of the Singers can attend a Miami Basketball game in person, one thing is for sure:

While they may be far away, they'll never be far from Tamar Singer's thoughts, on or off the court.

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

Tamar Singer and the Miami University women's basketball team open the 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in Millett Hall vs. Appalachian State. Season tickets, miniplans, and single-game tickets are available now!

Playing for Her People: The Tamar Singer Story

Players Mentioned

Lakresha Edwards

Tamar Singer

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