State Fair Signing Update
In a loaded Missouri region, State Fair C.C. of Sedalia, Mo., might not get as much ink as some of their Region XVI counterparts, but the Roadrunners had a pair of sophomores that inked with four-year schools.
State Fair's leader in 2002-2003, athletic scoring point guard Marqus Mitchell, signed this spring with North Texas.
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A native of Baton Rouge, La., the 5-11, 185 pound Mitchell averaged 13 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game as a sophomore. He hit 55 percent of his field goals, including a 40 percent clip beyond the arc.
Mitchell, who averaged 16.5 points per game in 2001-2002, earned first team all-region honors as a freshman and sophomore.
According to State Fair Asst. Coach Derek Witt, Mitchell had interest from programs like San Francisco, SW Missouri State, Montana, Manhattan and Baylor before casting his lot with the Mean Green.
One of the more unsung players on this year Roadrunner squad, 6-4, 195 pound swingman Josh Hardin of Cincinnati, Ohio, is headed to Missouri-St. Louis next fall.
Hardin is a versatile glue player who does a lot of things adequately. He's a good ball handler who can slither to the basket, and his passing skills often allow him to find the open man for an easy deuce. He's also an above average three point shooter.
Hardin played his freshman year at Kaskaskia College of Illinois in 2000-2001 before taking a red-shirt year there in 2001-2002. Witt said that D-I programs like Troy State and Robert Morris sniffed around with Hardin this spring.
Hardin, who was a qualifier out of high school, will have two years of eligibility at UMSL.
A third player who began the 2002-2003 season at State Fair is now playing professional basketball in the USBL, Witt said.
Cameron Benison, a husky 6-5, 225 pound forward from New York City, left State Fair before the completion of the first semster.
Benison had spent the 2001-2002 campaign bouncing around to a number of different junior colleges before finding a home (albeit temporary) last fall at State Fair.