A-J standout becomes first Edgar signee

~ Sharp-shooting prep guard Jimmy Drew will play for the Redhawks next season.

The first recruit of the Scott Edgar era at Southeast Missouri State is a sharpshooting guard who lives within a relatively short drive of Cape Girardeau.

Jimmy Drew, a 6-foot-4 1/2, 210-pound senior at Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.) High School, signed a national letter of intent on Monday to play basketball for the Redhawks.

"I'm pretty excited," Drew said. "Coach Edgar was a big part of my picking SEMO. I like the school and the campus was nice, but coach Edgar and his staff are going to do good things there. I think they're going to win big."

Drew, the Southern Illinois player of the year and an all-state selection, averaged 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game as a senior while playing for his father, Jim Drew.

Edgar, hired as Southeast's head coach less than three weeks ago, said what really impressed him about Drew was his shooting ability. Drew made 94 3-pointers and shot 47 percent from beyond the arc for a 21-9 team.

"As I looked at my roster and the strengths of it, I see some athleticism. I think he complements them and they complement him," Edgar said. "He's an outstanding shooter. I think he adds one of the things we need in order to start becoming the dominant team in the Ohio Valley Conference."

Edgar never saw Drew play in high school, but that did not deter the new Redhawks coach.

"I saw him twice in open gym," Edgar said. "When I recruit, I recruit on instincts. Over the years my instincts have been very good to me. Instinctively, I think Jimmy can be an outstanding player for us."

A family of athletes

Drew certainly comes from an athletic family. His parents, Jim and Bonnie, both played basketball at Middle Tennessee State, which is also where older sister Kelley played volleyball.

Another older sister, Kassie, recently completed her sophomore basketball season at Missouri, after she led the state of Illinois in scoring in both her junior and senior seasons. Older brother Chris played basketball at Southern Illinois.

"I'd say that what coach Edgar is getting is a kid who can really shoot it," Jim Drew said. "He can do other things -- he had to do a lot of things for us -- but what he can bring to the table immediately is his ability to shoot the 3."

Jim Drew said he envisions his son -- also a standout quarterback in football who had some recruiting interest in that sport as well -- contributing as a freshman.

"I don't think there's any question," he said. "I think he's a mature athlete."

Jimmy Drew, who according to his father also received recruiting interest from Wyoming and Austin Peay, among other schools, would like nothing better than to have an impact in his rookie season with the Redhawks.

"I'd like to come in there and contribute as a freshman," said Drew, also a strong student with a 3.5 grade point average. "I've got some things I need to develop a little bit, but I'm ready to do that.

"There's going to be some talent there next year, and good coaching. It takes eight or nine players to make a real good basketball team, and hopefully I can be one of those eight or nine."

Drew joins a freshmen recruiting class for next season that includes point guard Roderick Pearson and forward JaJuan Maxwell, two high school seniors from suburban Kansas City who signed during the early period in November, before Edgar was hired.

Since the Redhawks had just three seniors this past season, Drew technically fills the only available scholarship Southeast had remaining

But there is a chance a player or two won't return next season, so it's likely that Edgar is not done with his recruiting for the coming campaign.

"I think recruiting never ends, whether we're still reviewing what's still out there for 2006 or getting a head start on 2007," Edgar said. "Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program."

Edgar also said that he is getting close to officially announcing his first coaching staff at Southeast.

It had been previously reported that Edgar plans to retain Ronnie Dean and Toby Lane, who were on former head coach Gary Garner's staff.

Dean is also in the running for an assistant coaching position at Wyoming, but the Charleston native is said to be leaning toward staying with the Redhawks.

Likely rounding out Edgar's staff is Scepter Brownlee, who was on the Tennessee staff along with Edgar last season.