Colorado is not known to consistently put out top level high school basketball talent, but the state has had a number of high level prospects over the past couple of years. Next up on the radar is junior Regis point guard Josh Perkins. Zach Bell (yes, that Bell) of the SB Nation Gonzaga blog The Slipper Still Fits recently attended the Regis - Grandview game and wrote up a a good recap of Perkins' performance.
Although it was tough to watch Perkins struggle from the field, I could not have been more impressed by how he adjusted his game to do what he needed for his team. In the second quarter, Perkins channeled Steve Nash. I counted five assists in the second quarter alone, three of which were beautiful driving dishes that his teammates were almost surprised by. What I also found interesting about Perkins is how similar he is to Matt Bouldin as a distributor. Like Bouldin, Perkins has incredible court savvy and the strength to make three-quarter court passes that set his teammates up in the perfect position.
In the end, I had Perkins at 18 points, and at or near double figures in both assists and rebounds (and a huge block and dunk). It was a phenomenal all around performance and I hope to take in a few more performances. Make no mistake, there is a good reason why Few and company are pursuing him so hard. He plays with great tempo and would be a tremendous fit as we all know that Gonzaga loves to get up and down the court in a quick manner. Whether or not the staff can lure him away from some of the top programs in the country remains to be seen. Perkins claims offers from a who's who list of schools but smart money is on Kansas, Colorado, Duke, and Gonzaga being the main players for his signature at this point.
As with Josh Scott, keeping a highly coveted player in-state will be a major coup and he seems to be a great fit to play in Tad Boyle's system.