DePaul lands prep school wing

In their first year at DePaul, Oliver Purnell and his staff have been hard at work putting together a class to address several needs. Sunday, they checked off lockdown defender and another local off their list when they received a commitment from Charles McKinney.

An athletic 6-foot-4 wing, McKinney is currently prepping at Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy. However, he's also a native of the Chicago area who attended high school at Park Ridge (Ill.) Maine East before leaving for QEA in the Fall of 2009.

"Charles really felt comfortable with Coach Purnell as a person and Coach, his staff, the current and future players," Quality Education Academy coach Isaac Pitts, Jr. told Rivals.com. "He liked the fact that he would be a part of building Depaul into the storied program it once was and he really feels Coach Oliver Purnell is the right man to get the job done."

A slasher with athleticism to burn and good strength, McKinney specializes in getting to the rim on offense. But, he's also tough on the defensive end of the floor and has to tools to make an immediate impact.

"Depaul will be getting a special player, this kid is a lock down defender that can guard all three perimeter positions," said Pitts. "Very athletic, attacks the basket with reckless abandon, good shooter, high basketball IQ, and a winner".

A three-star prospect, McKinney joins a class that saw fellow three-stars Braeden Anderson, Macari Brooks, Jamie Crockett, four-star Shane Larkin and Mississippi big man Derrell Robertson sign during the early period.