Four ink roundball scholarships to Mississippi State

The players, who took advantage of the NCAA's early signing period in November, are:

• Bart Hyche, 5-11, 165 lb., guard from Winfield High School in Winfield, Ala. Hyche is ranked No. 7 on the Birmingham Post-Herald's preseason “10 Most Wanted” list of Alabama high school players. He averaged 25.4 points and 9.0 assists per contest as a prep junior in collecting Class 3A Player of the Year honors by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. During his junior campaign, he helped pace the Winfield Pirates to a 31-2 record and was chosen to the Tuscaloosa News' Super Five squad.
• Dontae Jones, 6-7, 217 lb., forward from Northeast Mississippi Community College. Jones, considered one of the nation's top junior college prospects, was rated in the preseason as the No. 1 junior college player in the country by Lindy's, College Sports, and Dick Vitale's College Basketball publications. He averaged 25.2 points (fifth in the country), 11.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, and 2.3 steals per contest as an all-Region 23 and first-team all-state selection last year as a freshman at Northeast.
• Early Smith, 6-8, 235 lb., forward from Starkville High School. Smith was listed by The Clarion-Ledger newspaper as a preseason Dandy Dozen all-state selection, in addition to being nominated for the prestigious McDonald's All-American Team. He also rated a preseason honorable mention All-American by Street & Smith's college basketball publication. He averaged 10.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and four blocked shots a game last year in helping the Yellowjackets to the final four of the Class 4A State Tournament.
• Tyrone Washington, 6-10 1/2, 228 lb., center from Indianola Gentry High School. Washington is an all-state center rated by several recruiting publications to be among the top 60 prep seniors in the nation. Also listed among The Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen for 1994-95, he averaged 15 points and 10 boards a game last season and helped the Rams to their second straight Class 4A runner-up finish. He was honorable mention all-state as a junior.