Monroe forward underway with visits

The month of September is one of the biggest for junior college players to take official visits. Those that want to sign early tend to get their trips out of the way before the start of the season. That is the case with Monroe Community College's Kevin Draughon.

"He just got back from Youngstown State, he liked it a lot," said head coach Jerry Burns. "He has got another official set with Niagara which he'll be taking this coming weekend and he has taken a couple unofficials. He went to Illinois-Chicago for an unofficial and Stony Brook. He's got a lot of other schools recruiting him, but the third visit will probably be to UNC-Wilmington."

Draughon redshirted at Eastfield Junior College (TX) in 2004-05 so he is in his third season of juco ball. He averaged better than 15 points and five rebounds a game last season.

"He hasn't even scratched the surface of how good he can be," said Monroe assistant Rob Schoener.

Burns said Draughon is a strong shooter, who will likely add the three-point shot to his arsenal this season. His position is up in the air at the next level.

"It's funny you ask that. Everyone that has seen him play likes him," Burns said. "I tell everyone he's just a kid that you have got to have out on the floor. He is an extremely difficult matchup because of his strength. You have to put a big guy on him and he has physical presence. He takes a big kid away from the basket, handles the ball and drives him. If you put a guard on him, he takes him down to the block. He is a three-four man, but I don't think it's a position, he's just a kid that you've got to have out there."

Draughon is not alone at Monroe. Crafty point guard Joe Lindsey has heavy interest from St. Peter's. Lindsey averaged 8.8 points and eight assists a game last season.

If Vince Moseley is eligible to play D1 ball, he could also become a productive prospect. Moseley played his freshman year at Seminole State in 2003-04. He redshirted at Roane State the next year and was hurt last year at Monroe with a torn ACL. If he can get a year back due to the injury, Moseley could move on with two years to play at a Division One school. Burns said Kent State was about to sign him, but is waiting to see how the rehab goes. As a freshman at Seminole, the 6-foot-6 Moseley averaged 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds.

The most intriguing story may be 6-foot-6 Oliver Prince. Prince signed with Pepperdine out of high school, then transferred to LeMoyne-Owen, a Division II school. A serious car accident left Prince in a coma, but he is now back on the court. A power forward, Prince could have some low-major options after this year.

Finally, Canisius and Stony Brook are among the schools interested in 6-foot-9 Brian Addison. Addison will not play this year at Monroe, but is focusing on getting his academic work done in order to be able to move on to Division One.