Recruiting File: Patrick Lucas-Perry

• TWEET
• SHARE
• SHARE

With the success of point guard Zack Rosen and the fast maturation of freshman Miles Cartwright it makes sense that Penn coach Jerome Allen is looking for one more feather in his cap. And he may have found one in Patrick Lucas-Perry.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound point guard from Flint, Mich., has opened eyes across the country with his solid play and his great pedigree. Lucas-Perry is coached by former Michigan and NBA forward Tim McCormick on Team Legion and Lucas-Perry’s brother played at the University of Michigan.

“Patrick has an insatiable desire to win,” McCormick said. “He reads the game better than any other high school athlete I have seen.”

And after talking to Lucas-Perry, I would venture that Penn is among the front-runners with Oakland University and Harvard as he nears committing to a college program. He is primarily drawn to Penn by coach Allen and the rest of the staff and the sense of connection with Penn basketball. Lucas-Perry has a scout’s grade of 88 on ESPN and is rated the No. 47 point guard prospect by ESPN in the Class of 2011.

“I think my strengths are my speed and the ability to see a play develop before it occurs,” Lucas-Perry said when I spoke to him.

“And most importantly winning,” he added.

Lucas-Perry hasn’t set a firm timeline of when he would decide to commit, but hinted that a decision would come before the end of the basketball season.

“I’m still talking to my parents about it, making sure everything is right if I decide to go to Penn or other schools,” he said. “Right now I’m just focusing on [my season]. I’d like to say, I will decide very early next year.”

“I talk to Coach Allen and Coach Martin almost every other week and Coach Kampe (Oakland University) and his staff and have been keeping in touch with Harvard,” he added.

Although Lucas-Perry didn’t play AAU this year because of an ACL surgery, one of the knocks on him in the past has been his lack of consistency with a jump shot and his tendency to select bad shots.

“He’s so fast that he gets open, but he needs to be able to consistently hit his perimeter jump shot,” said McCormick, who added that Lucas-Perry would flourish in the transition game. “He also goes to his right hand about 75 to 80 percent of the time and I would like to see him use his left.”

Despite these weaknesses Lucas-Perry is a proven winner who always elevates the team over himself. Speaking with Lucas-Perry he was quick to point out that he led his team to the state championship — his biggest accomplishment to date.

-Sushaan Modi