City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Drexel added another piece to its 2016 class on Tuesday night, as St. Thomas (Tex.) forward Jeremy Peck announced his commitment to become a Dragon.

Peck, a Houston native, picked the West Philadelphia school over offers from Air Force, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Asheville and Georgia Southern, naming the school's size, location and educational reputation as several factors for his decision.

A visit from head coach Bruiser Flint last week helped seal the deal.

"They were constantly in contact with me, they showed me love...recently, coach Bru and coach Bobby (Jordan) have all come down and seen me, watched practice, sat down and talked with my family," he said. "Since then, I've been talking (to my family), and it finally hit me that I was ready to commit and become a part of the Drexel family."

A 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward, Peck can stretch the floor out to the 3-point arc but can also put the ball on the floor once or twice against opposing big men and get into the lane.

Peck is the second member of Drexel's 2016 recruiting class, along with Bishop McNamara (Md.)'s 6-6, 200-pound combo forward Sam Green.

"I think my strengths would be I can make the right play ,right pass...I can post up and score on the block, I can face up and shoot," he said. "I want to work on my handle, I want to be able to go coast-to-coast with the ball and be able to hit people on the break, (and) work on my positioning for offensive rebounding."

When he gets to school, he'll join a deep and experienced Drexel frontcourt that's likely to include seniors Rodney Williams and Mohamed Bah plus juniors Austin Williams and Tyshawn Miles when he gets to campus.

It's his shooting ability that has the Drexel coaches especially intrigued in what he'll bring to the program; it's been quite a few years since the Dragons have had a big man who can stretch the floor.

"That's what the coaches are telling me that they really liked, because during the AAU season that's all I did, pick-and-pop with 3s from up top or in the corner," he said. "I really worked on expanding my range from not just mid-range but mid-range and then also 3-pointers now."

Head coach Bruiser Flint and staff do have one more scholarship left to use in the class, and expect them to use it on a wing guard to replace outgoing senior Tavon Allen.

Playing with the Houston Defenders on the Under Armour Association circuit, Peck averaged 6.8 ppg and and 4.4 rpg in 14 games.

As a junior at St. Thomas, he helped the Eagles to a 24-13 record, averaging around 17 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. Since then, he's added another inch to his frame, and he might not be done.

"The doctors think I still have a few inches in me," he said. "If I could reach 6-10 or 6-11, that would be ideal."

He's already looking forward to arriving in Philadelphia, if only for one reason--the food.

On his official visit to the school last month, the Drexel coaches took him to Abner's for cheesesteaks, and he was hooked.

"I wasn't even that hungry, and I ate two of them," he said.