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[Lynn Burke]

STORY: Pellum commits to Virginia Tech
By David Teel
dteel@dailypress.com

Darrion Pellum, a 6-foot-6 guard from Hampton, has committed to play basketball next season at Virginia Tech.

Pellum attended Hampton High School until his 2005 transfer to Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va. He played the past two seasons there for coach Richard Moore, averaging 20 points as a junior and 18 as a senior.

Moore said Tuesday that he used Pellum at point guard, shooting guard and small forward. Miami, Cincinnati, Mississippi, UNC Wilmington and Providence also offered Pellum scholarships, according to Moore.

Pellum “needs to be challenged,” Moore said, “and in the ACC he’ll be challenged every day.”

Boo Williams, who coached Pellum in his Hampton Roads summer league, said Pellum “could be the kind of guy where people say, ‘Where did he come from?’ He’s long and wiry. He’s an athlete.”

Pellum chose Tech on Monday after consulting with his parents and Hampton coach Walter Brower.

“Coach Brower is like a second father to me,” Pellum said. “He had a lot of input.”

Brower is friendly with Tech assistant coach Stacey Palmore, a former coach at Warwick High. Palmore has known Pellum for years and led the Hokies’ courtship.

“I think I’ll be in good hands at Virginia Tech with Coach Palmore,” Pellum said.

“They’re in the process of doing something special, and I want to be a part of it.”

The Hokies earned their first NCAA tournament bid in 11 years this season and defeated Illinois in the first round before falling to Southern Illinois. Tech loses three senior starters, including guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon.

Williams said Massanutten’s military structure gave Pellum much-needed discipline “and turned his life around.”

“I was hanging with the wrong people,” Pellum acknowledged. “Now I’m a leader on and off the court.”

Said Moore: “The thing I’m most proud of is for two years he really got his academics together.”

Pellum’s decision gives Tech the NCAA-maximum 13 scholarship players for next season. Recruits may begin signing letters of intent next month. «