Peck Expands Game for Ivy League

Cornell recruit, Errick Peck, a 6'6" forward from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis may be the best incoming recruit in the Ivy League next season. But even more important, he may also have the biggest upside of any of the newcomers.

While in high school, Peck played exclusively in the paint as a power forward or center. At 6'6'" -- high major college programs, notably Purdue, Indiana and Penn State, took notice and loved his athleticism and blue collar work ethic on defense and on the glass. Often referred to as a "tweener"-- these schools never made scholarship offers because they believed he was too short to play inside the paint in the Big 10 and had not yet proven he was capable of playing on the perimeter as a small forward.

Nevertheless, Peck is big and strong enough to play inside at a mid-major program and could be just pure dominating in the Ivy League. Not surprisingly, Peck had more than a dozen scholarship offers from very strong mid-major programs such as Butler, Missouri State, Kent State, Cleveland State, Akron, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Colorado State, among others.

In recent weeks, some observers have taken notice that Peck is working hard on expanding his perimeter offensive skills, which could make him even more formidable next season on a loaded Cornell rosters.

Below is an excerpt from an article in today's Indianapolis Star. For some video highlights of Peck, click here.

Peck expands game for next level

Kyle Neddenriep
Indianapolis Star
April 27, 2009

Not to put too much stock into all-star game, where defense is just a good idea, but the transformation of Errick Peck's game is worth nothing.

The 6-6 Cathedral senior was primarily an interior presence for the Irish. Teams would generally leave him open from the outside, and most of the time, he would pass up those shots. Not anymore.

On Saturday at the Eric Gordon Super Shootout City-County Game, Peck hit four 3-pointes and played more like a guard than a power forward. Peck, who is an Indianapolis Star Indiana All-Star, slashed to the basket on the dribble and didn't hesitate to shoot from the perimeter. He finished with 22 points.

Since the end of the season, Peck said he's been working on ballhandling and shooting. Headed to Cornell, Peck is eager to prove college coaches wrong who questioned his ability to play facing the basket.

"A lot of it has to do with confidence," he said. "I know I can expand my game."