CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.– Southeast Missouri signed point guard Phil Russell and forward Ramean Hinton for the 2020-21 season during the opening day of the NCAA early signing period Wednesday.
 
Russell (5'10", 165) comes to SEMO from Vashon High School (St. Louis) and Hinton (6'4", 180) joins the Redhawks from Curie High School (Chicago).
 
Russell started at point guard the last two seasons leading Vashon to 47 wins over that span. The Wolverines won a Class 3 State Championship in March, Vashon's third in four years. 
 
"Phil is a very important signing for our program," said SEMO head coach Rick Ray. "First of all, he is a leader of a great Vashon team that has already won two state championships so far in his career with a tremendous opportunity to win a third this upcoming season. Second, it is important for us to try to have a recruiting footprint in the St. Louis area and Phil certainly helps us in that regard. Lastly and more importantly, he is a fantastic player with a commanding presence on the court who just flat out wins. We know what type of player and person that we are getting with Phil because of the guidance he has received from his parents and Coach [Toni] Irons."  
 
In the semifinal matchup against Charleston High School, Russell drained four 3-pointers and scored 20 points. Along with his ability to score, Russell also dished out nearly 180 assists during his junior campaign.
 
"He can shoot it. He can dribble it. He can pass it and he can defend," said Irons. "He is probably one of the most skilled players we've had. Phil is a talented kid who can do all the things you need a point guard to do. He can really shoot the basketball and has improved every year."
 
Hinton averaged 15 points and seven rebounds for Curie High School, which went 35-2 overall and didn't lose to a Chicago-area school last season. In the Chicago Public League championship game against Morgan Park, Hinton turned in a double-double 21 points and 13 rebounds.
 
"Ramean was without a doubt the hardest playing prospect that we evaluated this past recruiting cycle," said Ray. "He has a competitive streak in him that provides his team an opportunity to win every single time he sets foot on the court and it is truly infectious. Ramean has been well coached by Mike Oliver and is coming from a winning program as Curie won the city championship in Chicago last season. His work ethic comes from his mother who has done an excellent job of raising him. Ramean will add toughness to our team immediately."
 
UAB, Saint Louis, Kent State, Green Bay, Kansas State, New Mexico, Colorado State and Tulsa were other schools that recruited Hinton in addition to SEMO.
 
"Ramean is a scorer that is very athletic and has a lot of energy," said Oliver. "He has a lot of drive and is a hard-playing kid."
 
Hinton and Russell fashioned an impressive combined record of 61-6 in their games as juniors.
 
"I want to thank my staff for their efforts in putting together this recruiting class," commented Ray. "We have done a very good job of recruiting student-athletes here at SEMO in the past, but this class may very well be our most accomplished class. We are excited about the futures ahead for Phil and Ramean."