April 23, 2008


University of North Alabama head men’s basketball Coach Bobby Champagne announced the signing of Marquel Darrington to a National Letter of Intent for the 2008-09 academic year on Friday. “We are very excited to add a player of Marquel’s ability and character to our program,” said Champagne. “We believe that he will fit in well and will give us some added depth on the perimeter.”

Darrington, a guard from Trinity Presbyterian, signed with the University of North Alabama at a press conference on Friday.

"UNA feels a lot like Trinity to me," Darrington said. "When I toured the campus, it was nice and there is an emphasis on education. The guys on the (UNA) team are close, like the guys (at Trinity) are. "I think that will help make it an easy adjustment for me. Their team has chemistry and you can tell by the way they play with each other."

Darrington averaged 17.2 points, six rebounds, 4.2 steals and 6.6 assists per game for Coach Jack Schweers. He scored 954 points the past two seasons to help led the Wildcats to back-to-back appearances in the Central Regional championship game.

"I was real close to these guys and I will miss them," Darrington said. "People always tell me that I made their games better, but we complimented each other. They helped make me a better player."

Darrington joins Mirnes Islamovic who signed with the Lions in the early signing period. Darrington lead his team to a 24-4 record and has been Honorable Mention All State, All-Region and 1st Team All-Metro as a junior and senior and was the MVP of the Capitol City Classic this season.