Plymouth High’s new boys hoops coach knows game inside and out

After being tasked to cover future NBA standouts like LaMarcus Aldridge and Glenn “Big Baby” Davis while a collegiate basketball player at the University of Louisiana Monroe, Darien Bynum is not fazed by anything related to hoops.

The longtime basketball mentor and admired educator at Plymouth-Canton Schools’ Pioneer Middle School, Bynum was officially named the next head boys basketball coach at Plymouth High School on Monday.

After noteworthy playing careers at since-closed Redford Bishop Borgess High School and ULM (he also played professionally for a short time), Bynum has a stellar resume as an assistant high school varsity basketball coach at Ann Arbor Pioneer (five years) and Canton High School (the past two seasons), to name two.

Bynum was also a skills-development leader for Canton-based Triple Threat Basketball, which is based at High Velocity Sports.

“I’m super-excited, to say the least,” said Bynum, who serves as the Dean of Students at Pioneer. “This was the fourth high school head-coaching job I’ve interviewed for, so when I found out I got the job, you can only imagine what a thrill it was for me and my family.”

Bynums are proud parents

Bynum and his wife La’toria, who played high school basketball for Westland John Glenn, are the proud parents of three children: daughter Lucy, 7; and 3-year-old twin sons Jones and Asher.

“My daughter is a dancer, not a basketball player, which is cool,” Bynum said. “My sons are only 3, but they absolutely love basketball. They even tried to take a basketball to daycare today.

“What would be really neat is if I get to coach them at Plymouth someday.”

Bynum succeeds Andrew Meeuwsen, who voluntarily stepped down following the 2023-24 season due to a family relocation to the west side of Michigan.

“Darien brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the team,” said Plymouth Athletic Director Chaka Johnson. “His unique combination of playing and coaching experience gives him a deep understanding of the game and a valuable perspective.

‘Leadership, knowledge and dedication’

“With his leadership, knowledge and dedication, Plymouth High School basketball is poised for an exciting and successful season.”

One aspect of Canton’s basketball program that left an impression on Bynum was its brotherhood.

“I loved how many former players are now assistant coaches at Canton,” he said. “In fact, I was the only coach who wasn’t a Canton alumni.

“I want to bring that same community feeling to Plymouth. In fact, I’ve already reached out to some alumni to see if they want to get involved in the program.”

Up-tempo ‘O’, pressure ‘D’

On the court, Bynum said he likes his teams to play an up-tempo offensive style mixed in with a pressing defense that creates offense from lock-down defending.

“Offensively, I like the (former Villanova University Head Coach) Jay Wright system with four players on the perimeter and one inside,” Bynum said. “It all depends on the talent and our players’ strengths, though.”

Bynum said he’s excited about the nucleus of players that is returning to Plymouth’s roster for the 2024-25 season.

“Cam Short is a beast, Ali Hider has a lot of skill, and young guys like Chayse Calvin and Zerry Rue have a ton of potential,” he said. “I already know probably half the kids just from coaching at High Velocity, which is nice.

“I still remember one of our seniors at Canton last season, A.P. (Alex Persinger), from when he was 5 years old at Triple Threat. He was one of those kids who would stay after practices and workouts and just shoot, shoot, shoot, which paid off because he had a spectacular senior season shooting the ball.”

Bynum said he finds great satisfaction while serving as the Dean of Students at Pioneer.

“I have about 50 students on my caseload who are ‘C’ students and I work with them to become ‘B’ or ‘A’ students,” he said. “It’s very rewarding when you positively impact a young student’s life.”

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.