NORMAL, Ill. – New Illinois State men's basketball head coach Ryan Pedon has added two more players to his inaugural recruiting class with the additions of Darius Burford and Malachi Poindexter.
Burford comes to Illinois State from Elon University, while Poindexter arrives as a Redbird from the University of Virginia. Both have three years of eligibility remaining in their careers.
Last season with Elon, Burford was named third-team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), a season after being named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. He led the team in scoring, assists, and steals, averaging 13.4 points per game with 97 assists and 47 steals. Both his assist average and steals per game average were eighth best in the CAA, his scoring average was ninth best in the CAA, while his field goal percentage (170-of-375 – 45.3 percent) was third best among qualifiers.  He also had the sixth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference (1.28).
"Darius is a dynamic guard that can impact the game in a variety of ways," Pedon noted. "He possesses tremendous speed, a knack for scoring, and an ability to be disruptive on the defensive end. His previous relationship with assistant coach Andrew Dakich, coupled with the fact that campus is less than two hours from his hometown, made ISU a very desirable destination."
Burford, a 6-0 guard from Bolingbrook, Illinois, had 20 games last season with at least 10 points, including seven games of 20 or more points. His career-high came on February 19 with 31 points against Drexel. He had at least three assists in 21 games and had a season-high eight against William & Mary, a game in which he also scored 20 points. He pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds against Bluefield College, while snagging at least six rebounds on six occasions. He earned CAA Player of the Week honors on January 3.
As a freshman he averaged 8.9 points per game with 25 assists and a team-high 27 steals in 19 games on the season with 11 starts. He scored in double-figures seven times, including scoring a season-high 27 points against William & Mary, one of two 20-point scoring efforts on the season. Over his last 11 games of the season, he averaged 13 points per game, and he had six games of five or more rebounds and four games with three or more assists. He twice earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors during his freshman season and ranked sixth in the CAA in steals per game (1.4).
At Bolingbrook High School, Burford was a top-20 player in Illinois' 2020 class by the Hoops Report and Prep Hoops Illinois. He helped lead Bolingbrook to Conference, Regional, and Sectional titles and was named First Team All-Tournament at both the Decatur Turkey Tournament and the Kingdom of the Sun Holiday Classic in 2018. He was an IBCA All-State honoree as a junior.
Poindexter, a 6-2 guard from Mineral, Virginia, arrives in Normal after two seasons with the Virginia Cavaliers.
"Malachi Poindexter is a hidden gem," said Pedon. "He is an impressive young man with high basketball character, intangibles, and a strong work ethic. His experiences at Virginia have helped to mold him as a player and young man. His maturity, leadership, and commitment to winning will all prove to be very valuable to our program moving forward. We are very excited about Malachi's future as a Redbird."
Last season he saw action in 19 games for the Cavaliers, who had a 21-14 record and advanced to the third round of the postseason NIT. He scored 19 points off the bench, while adding seven assists and 10 rebounds. He made 8-of-16 shots from the field, and 3-of-8 from long range on the season. He scored seven points against Fairleigh Dickinson on December 18 and had three points and an assist against Lehigh on November 26. Five times during the season he played at least 10 minutes, including 13 at Duke on February 7 and 11 against Georgia Tech on February 12.
As a walk-on freshman, Poindexter played in three games, making his Virginia debut against Towson on November 25. As a prep player at St. Anne's-Belfield School he averaged 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists per game during his senior season in 2019-20 and was named All-Prep League First Team. He averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game as a junior, after playing three seasons of varsity basketball at Louisa County High School. While at Louisa Country HS he earned MVP honors, and was named All-Central Virginia, First Team All-Jefferson District, First Team All-Conference, and All-Area Fredericksburg.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
