Washington all-state basketball guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards signed his National Letter of Intent with Bradley late Monday afternoon at the high school.
"We're ecstatic about Dyricus," said BU coach Jim Les. "We want to keep the majority of good basketball players from central Illinois here at Bradley. When we can add the likes of Jordan and Dyricus, that bodes well for future of our program."
The decision for 6-foot-1 Simms-Edwards came down to BU and Kansas State, with a late push from Rhode Island. He paid his official visit to Bradley the weekend of April 18-19.
"When he had his visit there, he came back confident in his decision," said WHS coach Kevin Brown. "Bradley is someplace he wanted to be involved. They always kept an eye on him, but as far as an offer, it was kind of late. But when Bradley decided to come after him, they came full bore."
Simms-Edwards will receive Bradley's 13th and final scholarship. He presumably completes the Braves' four-member recruiting class of 2009-10 -- all of them high school seniors.
Richmond, Va., guard Jake Eastman signed earlier this month and a pair of 6-8 forwards -- Jordan Prosser of Eureka and Milos Knezevic -- officially committed to BU last November.
Simms-Edwards has played regularly in pickup games with the Braves the past couple of years. He will be one of seven guards on the BU roster next fall.
"One of our goals was for him to be around great people," said the player's father, Meechie Edwards. "We're not worried about sitting the bench. Dyricus has a strong character and strong work ethic. He'll do what he has to do. With his talent and skill level, he'll be able to find some minutes."
Said Brown: "I know what Coach (Jim) Les has done with the guards there. (Dyricus) is going to have to work, but I think he can step in and help right away."
Simms-Edwards averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Panthers while shooting .532 from the field and .748 from the free-throw line.
He was named the Journal Star's big-school Player of the Year and to all-state second teams by The Associated Press, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Champaign News-Gazette and the IBCA.
