STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton men's basketball team and head coach Lonn Reisman announced the second signing of next year's class as Michael Hardge will join the Texans.
Hardge is a senior at Georgetown High School in Georgetown, Texas. This past year, the 5-11 guard was ranked as the No. 57 prospect in the state of Texas by TexasHoops.com for the Class of 2012. In 2011-12, Hardge averaged 21.1 points per game, which was the highest at Georgetown H.S. in over 21 years. On top of that, Hardge added 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 70 percent from the free throw line and 33 percent from three-point range.
After all four years of high school, Hardge totaled 1,710 points including 653 points as a senior. The four-year letterman led District 16-5A in scoring as a senior both overall and in district play. He scored double figures in every district game, with his lowest total of the season an astonishing 17 points.
Under the direction of head coach Russell Miller, Hardge earned all-district honors all four years, and was named second team All-Centex as a senior. Besides that, he was named first team all-district three years and named second team as a freshman. That puts him among the all-time greats in school history.
As a junior, Hardge averaged 17.1 points per game, which ranked third in the district. He also added 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Hardge averaged double-digits as a sophomore as well.
Coach Reisman talked about what it means to the program to add Hardge.
“We are excited to have Michael be a part of our family for the next four years,” said Reisman. “He will be a great ambassador for Tarleton State University. Michael comes from great family and high school and has talent to be a tremendous player in the Lone Star Conference. We love to bring in cornerstone type players that continue to build our program and with Michael's willingness to improve and get better, I think he can be a special player in the purple and white for the next four seasons.”
Associate head coach Chris Reisman also talked about the addition and why they liked Hardge's game.
“Mike has a ton of upside,” said the younger Reisman. “He's quick and athletic, can break pressure and really handles the ball. He has the ability to score in a variety of ways. I'm excited to see Mike develop as he gets stronger in our strength and conditioning program and as he adjusts to the physical nature and speed of the college game.”
When reached for comment on his decision, Hardge had this to say.
“Tarleton just felt like home to me", said Hardge. “When I took a visit up there, everyone treated me like family, and everyone was real friendly. No one is selfish. Coach Lonn Reisman told me if I committed, I wouldn't just be part of the team for four years; I'd be joining a team for a lifetime. That meant a lot to me."???
"Tarleton will get an explosive, hard-working, determined Mike Hardge," the senior guard said. "I feel I have a lot I can bring to TSU. I'm hard working, I hate losing, I have a passion for basketball, and I'm always interested to learn so much more about basketball that I don't know.”?
"I am willing to give it my all and make sacrifices for the team,” said Hardge. “I will bring a lot of energy to the team. Even though I'll be a freshman on campus next year, I am still going to bring leadership to the team and learn everything and lead the team to a national championship one day."
Hardge chose Tarleton over a number of other schools including Arkansas-Little Rock, Sam Houston State, South Alabama, Weber State, SMU and Texas State.
For more information regarding the 2012-13 Tarleton men's basketball season, check out TarletonSports.com.
Link to 2011-12 Stats by MaxPreps
