VSU SIGNS PAIR OF IN-STATE STANDOUTS
Jim Junot  7/9/09
 
Virginia State University's head men's basketball coach George White
has announced the signing of two in-state stand-outs. Michael Bynum
(above), who played in the Virginia High School Coaches All-Star Game on
July 7, and Dijon Cuffee, who has been rated as one of the top high
school prospects in the nation by ESPN, have both signed to continue
their playing careers with the Trojans.
 
Bynum, a 5-8 point guard from Indian River High School in Chesapeake,
Va., scored almost 1,000 points during his career. He started three
years for Indian River and averaged 16.1 points, six assists and three
steals a game.
 
Bynum was also selected to the first team All Southern District, first
Team All Chesapeake, MVP of Chesapeake Classic, Hononrable Mention
All-Eastern Region, and selected to participate in Virginia High School
All-Star Game.
 
"Mike is a very smart and skilled player who will provide us with
quickness and savvy at the point guard position. he has the ability and
unselfishness to adjust his game to best meet the needs of the team. I
anticipate that, due to his work ethic, Mike will continue to develop
his skills and body to be a strong competitor and leader for our
program. He also has had great coaching from Coach Mabry at Indian
River," White said about Bynum.
 
Dijon Cuffee is a 6-6, 190 lb., forward from Booker T. Washington High
School in Norfolk, Va. ESPN rated him as one of the top prospects in
the nation at small forward.
 
"Cuffee's length, athleticism and strength are his best attributes and
he plays at a high intensity level. He has the physical tools and
capability of playing at the D-I level. He has good quickness and is a
solid ball handler. His ability to absorb contact in the paint is due to
his very good body strength. He is a very quick leaper and does a good
job on the glass. Defensively, he is very tough on the ball because he
has both the foot speed and upper body strength to keep ball handlers
out of the lane. Off the ball he has a tendency to gamble. Cuffee has
terrific range on his jump shot and has the ability to score in bunches.
His floor game is solid but still needs some improvement. He does play
well in spots and looks good at times but needs to become a consistent
performer. He can knock it down consistently beyond the arc and is a
very strong driver with the athleticism to finish in traffic; He is
definitely worth monitoring because of skill level and athleticism,"
ESPN wrote on it's web site.
 
Cuffee averaged 10 points and six points per game as a senior for
Booker T. Washington. 
 
"Dijon provides a unique blend of size, physicality and athleticism
that is rare at our level. I feel that he can be a very good defender in
our system with the ability to defend multiple positions. He also has
the potential to be a great rebounder at both ends of the floor.
Offensively, he needs to develop his skill set but comes to us with a
good grounding from Coach Sanderlin at Booker T. and is knows what it
takes to be successful coming from such a great program," said White
about his incoming freshman.