Gold Rush picks up transfer from NCAA Division II
August 8, 2008

NEW ORLEANS — Landon Bussie, a 6-foot-5 forward with two years of men's basketball experience in NCAA Division II, has signed a scholarship to transfer to Xavier University of Louisiana.

Bussie, from Baltimore, is eligible to play in 2008-09 and will be one of four newcomers on the Gold Rush roster. He will major in biology at Xavier and have two seasons of eligibility.

Bussie averaged 4.2 points and a team-leading six rebounds per game as a sophomore at Livingstone College of Salisbury, N.C., during the 2006-07 season. He started 30 games during two seasons at Livingstone, was chosen the team's best defensive player as a freshman and earned a silver medal from the school as a sophomore for academic achievement.

Bussie is a 2005 graduate of Baltimore's Woodlawn High School, where he averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior and played in the city-county all-star game. He spent two years at Woodlawn after transferring from Milford Mill High School.

Xavier, an NAIA Division I school, was 24-10 in 2007-08 and finished third in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The Gold Rush qualified for the national tournament for a school-record fourth consecutive time.