April 13, 2016
NJCAA All-Americans | Fall Signing Release
SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State men's basketball head coach Paul Lusk completed his recruiting class for the 2016-17 season today (April 13) with the receipt of a National Letter of Intent from State Fair Community College guard Ronnie Rousseau III.
On Monday, Rousseau was named an NJCAA Division I All-American second teamer by the NJCAA Division I Basketball Committee after producing 23.2 points per game for the Roadrunners his sophomore season. His scoring average ranked seventh in the nation, while his 209 free throws on the season ranked third.
"We are excited to add Ronnie to our program," Lusk said. "He was the region player of the year in an outstanding league, and he produces at a high level. He's a multi-faceted player who scores it in many ways."
The 5-foot-10, 160-pound scorer from Cincinnati's Winton Woods High School helped the Roadrunners to a 19-10 record in his sophomore campaign which ended with a loss in the Region 16 Tournament Championship game. He converted 84.3 percent of his free throws on the season, which also ranked among the nation's leaders, while converting 50.1 percent of his field goals, 41.7 percent of his 3-pointers. He also averaged 3.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game this season.
Rousseau also earned first-team All-Region 16 honors this season in addition to Region 16 Player of the Year distinction. He was also a first-team all-conference performer in the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference.
"Ronnie is a great player," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "He provided a lot of leadership for us this year and produced on both ends of the floor. He was a guy that set the tone with his work ethic and how to get things done."
Rousseau began his college career at Vincennes (Ind.) University where he played one semester and averaged 6.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals. As a high school senior, he averaged 25 points and eight assists a game for coach Donnie Gillespie's Warriors at Winton Woods. He was a McDonald's All-America nominee and ranked as the No. 1 player in the Cincinnati area and the No. 3 player in Ohio for the class of 2014. He was later rated as the No. 1 junior college recruit in Ohio and the No. 14 14 junior college recruit in the country after his prep career.
He will join November commitments Greg Williams (G, 6-6, 180, Fr., Lynchburg, Va., Genesis Academy), Jarrid Rhodes (G, 6-7, 195, Jr., Palmetto, Fla., Palmetto High, Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa College) and Alize Johnson (F, 6-8, 200, Jr., Williamsport, Pa., St. John Neumann High, Frank Phillips [Texas] College) on the MSU roster in 2016-17.
Lusk returns four starters and nine lettermen in all for his sixth season at the helm of the Bears, including two of the top four returning scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference. This season's Newcomer of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference, Dequon Miller (12.7 ppg) and MVC Most-Improved selection Chris Kendrix (12.1 ppg) represent the third and fourth-best returning scorers in the MVC.
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