Harding started playing basketball at age two and was also involved in football and soccer in his childhood. He began competing on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit at a late age.[1] Harding played for Wichita Southeast High School in Wichita, Kansas.[2] He did not receive any NCAA Division I offers until his senior season, when he averaged 27.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, leading his team to a 20–5 record and to the Class 6A state title game. In the state tournament, he averaged 34.3 points per game and his 103 points broke a 37-year-old 6A tournament record.[3] He graduated as his school's all-time leading scorer.[4] Harding was named Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year.[5] On April 22, 2016, he committed to play college basketball for Weber State over an offer from Loyola (Illinois).[3] He was drawn to the program in part because Damian Lillard, one of his favorite players, had played there.[6]
College career
Harding received sparse minutes in his freshman season before working his way into the rotation and had double-digit points in seven straight games to end the season.[7] Harding averaged 9.3 points per game as a freshman at Weber State, even though his coach wanted to redshirt him at first.[1][8] On March 3, 2018, he scored a school-record 46 points in a 95–92 overtime win over Montana State.[9] As a sophomore, Harding averaged 22 points per game and was named to the First Team All-Big Sky. He finished the season with 682 points, the most by a sophomore in school history.[10] On December 22, 2018, Harding scored a junior season-high 36 points in an 83–69 victory over Delaware State.[11] He averaged 21.4 points per game as a junior and earned First Team All-Big Sky honors for his second straight year. After the season, Harding declared for the 2019 NBA draft, before returning to school.[12] On January 25, 2020, Harding scored 32 points, including nine in overtime, in a 87–85 victory over Montana. He became the third Weber State player to surpass the 2,000 point milestone.[13] On February 6, he scored a senior season-high 44 points and surpassed Jeremy Senglin to become Weber State's all-time leading scorer in a 70–66 win over Sacramento State.[14] As a senior, Harding averaged 22.2 points per game, which ranked seventh among NCAA Division I players, as well as 2.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.[6][15] He was a Second Team All-Big Sky selection. He finished his career as Weber State's all-time leader in free throw percentage, at 86.8 percent, and scored the third-most points in Big Sky history.[6]
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