(May 27, 2004) - Fordham University men??s basketball head coach Dereck Whittenburg announced the signing of Kevin Anderson (OH/Hargrave Military Academy), Michael Binns (Aurora, IL/Brewster Academy) and Marcus Stout (Detroit, MI/Detroit Renaissance) to a National Letter of Intent.
Anderson, a 6-3 guard, attended Hargarve this year after graduating from Worthington High School in Ohio in 2003. He started all 26 games for Hargrave this year, playing both guard positions and averaged 8.0 ppg and 4.5 assists per game for the Cadets.
Hargrave finished with a 25-1 record this year and was ranked number one in the country by InsidersHoops.com. Anderson played along side other Division I signees Isaiah Swann (Florida State), Lorenzo Wade (Louisville), Darian Townes (Arkansas) and Stanley Burrell (Xavier).
At Worthington, Anderson averaged 11.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.8 assists/game and 3.2 steals/game as a senior, earning First Team All-League and Second Team All-District honors. A defensive star, Anderson was described by Worthington head coach Jack Greathouse as ??one of the best defensive guards I??ve seen since I??ve been coaching.??
Binns, a 6-7, 220 pound power forward, comes to Fordham after prepping last year at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, the fourth-ranked Prep school in the country. He averaged 8.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a game this past winter.
Binns is a graduate of West Aurora High School where he was nominated to play in the 2003 McDonald??s All-American Boys Game. He played at West Aurora with current Division I student-athletes Shaun Pruitt (Illinois) and Justin Cerasoli (Seton Hall). Prior to West Aurora, Binns played at Chicago Whitney Young High School where he was a teammate of current Division I players Marcus White (Connecticut), Dwayne Curtis (Auburn), Anthony Harris (Miami) and Andre Knox (Loyola)
Stout, a 6-3 guard, was a member of the undefeated state championship team at Detroit Renaissance. The Phoenix went 27-0 on the year and won the Michigan Class B State Championship, their first ever state championship. They finished the year ranked third in the country by USA Today. Stout scored ten points in Renaissance??s win over DeWitt in the state championship game.
The number four ranked point guard and the 16th ranked player overall in the state of Michigan by Insiders.com, Stout averaged 14.0 ppg and 6.0 assists/game as a senior. He was named Third Team All-State for Class B by the Detroit News and First Team All-State for Class B by MichiganPreps.com.
Anderson and Stout join Byrant Dunston (Brooklyn, NY/St. John??s Prep) and Sebastian Greene (Lafayette, IN/Lafayette Catholic) who signed during the early signing period.
Dunston, a 6-8 forward who just finished his senior year at St. John??s Prep, averaged 19.5 ppg, 14.5 rpg, 5.0 blocks/game as a senior after averaging 10.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg and four blocks per game as a junior. He was named a Newsday All-Queens Honorable Mention pick.
Dunston, the nephew of former major league baseball player Shawon Dunston, plays high school basketball for James Gatto, who also coached Fordham University associate head coach Ray Martin at Mater Christi High School.
Greene, a 6-7 forward, was a starter for Lafayette Catholic last year as a junior, leading the team to the Indiana Class A Championship. He average 8.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 1.2 assists per game as the Knights went 18-9 and won their third straight state title.
Following his state title year last year, Greene had a standout summer with the Billy Shepard Sports AAU team, being named to the 2003 Adidas Bigtime All-Tournament team.
Greene, who was born and spent the first 16 years of his life in Germany, was ranked 85th among Hoop Scoop??s Ranking of the Top 445 seniors for 2004.
