Scouting Reports for the 2023 Recruiting Class
With almost everyone returning from last year’s squad there weren’t a lot of needs to filled with this recruiting class. That gave Coach Spiker and the staff the freedom to go out and secure the best available players. They landed an early commitment from Horace Simmons who was a highly sought after target for the Dragons. Then not long after the season ended they took a peak at the transfer portal, but didn’t have to look too deep, as they landed a commitment from Lucas Monroe from right up the road at Penn.
The following are scouting reports for both of the incoming players. This will be followed up with a companion podcast where we talk about the roster, how each of these players fits in with this years team and beyond.
Rating: 3.5
Scouting Report: Horace Simmons is at his most dangerous when shooting the ball from deep but can score on all three levels. While he has a quick trigger he’s definitely not a ball hog, as he played very unselfishly this past season despite being by far the best player on his team. With his length, leaping ability and high release point he can hit jumpers right over the top of defenders. Most of his three pointers are of the catch and shoot variety, but he will also use a jab step to clear space to get his shot off. While he hit a lot of well defended threes, Horace needs to be more consistent knocking down open looks. In almost 20 games watched during his senior year he only shot 31% from three, simply knocking down more open looks would have brought this number up significantly. From mid range he will either pull up after a dribble or two, or post his man up and then shoot a fadeaway right over top. He was surprisingly efficient taking these post up fade aways. Horace is also an effective passer out of the post. When other teams would double team him, Horace did a nice job finding the open man on the perimeter or hitting a cutter for a layup. He can however get a little lazy with his passes at times, which can result in some turnovers. This can be cleaned up with experience and coaching though.
While Horace isn’t very dynamic with the ball in his hands he can put the ball on the floor enough to keep the defense honest and will use his shooting prowess to setup drives with head fakes. Around the hoop he finishes decently but can improve there with added strength. Defensively Horace mainly played on the interior as the tallest player on his high school team. At only 6-6 he used his length and leaping ability to protect the rim but doubtful he will be manning the middle in college. The main question about him defensively is can he guard out on the perimeter? Horace rarely left the paint to defend on the outside and the few times he did he got beat. Horace has the tools to be a good perimeter defender but will need to show he has the lateral quickness to stay with smaller guards at the collegiate level. If Horace shows he can defend at the CAA level and knock down his outside shots with a little more consistency he has the chance to be an all league type player for the Dragons.
Rating: 2.5
Scouting Report: Penn transfer Lucas Monroe is a versatile player who can play and guard multiple positions, due to his size, quickness and athletic ability. Last season Lucas lead Penn in rebounding, pulling down 6 per game and while wasn’t a big time scorer, averaging only 4.9 points per game, he did chip in 2.1 assists as well. Lucas fights hard on the boards and jockeys for position, so you can see why he lead the team. He also brought the ball up for Penn most of the time he was in the game and while he’s not particularly dynamic with the ball in his hands, he is steady. At Drexel Lucas shouldn’t be bringing the ball up too often if Justin Moore and Jamie Bergens can stay healthy. When handling the ball he doesn’t really create looks for his teammates but does a nice job finding the open man or perfectly hitting a cutter with a pass.
As a scorer Lucas isn’t much of a threat away from the hoop. He barely even attempted a jump shot in the games we watched and for the season he was only 3-12 from beyond the arc. One aspect of his game where he really brings value though, is with his defensive versatility. He can stay with guards on the perimeter or guard bigger players inside. On a team that’s returning almost all of the production from the year before, the Dragons didn’t need to add much firepower to the roster, but you can never have enough depth and Lucas brings a level of depth by himself with his ability to play positions 1-4. From all accounts Lucas was a great teammate and leader at Penn so hopefully these traits will translate to success across 33rd street as well.