Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 7, 1991 TAG: 9104240028
SECTION: THE METRO TOURNAMENT PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Scott Blanchard / Sportswriter
DATELINE: MEMPHIS, TENN. LENGTH: Long
Used to be
Think about it. After winning Metro Conference freshman of the year and being named the best first-year point guard in the country by Sport Magazine, then leading the team in scoring and setting several records as a sophomore, it seemed Perry had All-American potential.
Then came last year. Scoring and shooting statistics dropped. The team struggled. He went from first- to second-team all-Metro. And Perry's begoggled national profile became fuzzy.
"Oh yeah, definitely," he said recently. "Anytime you have a bad season and you don't go as far in the tournament or don't get a lot of exposure, your reputation's going to slip a little bit."
As a senior, however, Perry's slide changed direction as quickly as one of his rabbit-like darts down the lane. Althoughthe Tigers' wanderings continued, Perry averaged a career-high 21 points per game and raised his field-goal, free-throw and 3-point shooting averages.
He'll finish his career as MSU's second all-time leading scorer, behind Keith Lee, and he holds Memphis records for steals and 3-pointers. He's only the second Metro Conference player to score more than 2,000 points and have more than 500 assists, sharing that distinction with Virginia Tech's Bimbo Coles.
Perry's senior-year success, he said, was the result of a four letter word: rest. For the first time in his Memphis State career, he didn't play organized summer basketball with touring teams - a result of getting cut from the U.S. team for the Goodwill Games.
So, Perry's pre-senior year summer sonsisted of a morning weightroom workout, an afternoon shoot around and early evening pick up games with teammates.
Memphis coach Larry Finch said there was another factor.
"He learned to accept the fact that he was the focal point," Finch said. "In the first two years, he wasn't."
Of the 18 games in his career Perry hasn't scored in double figures, seven came in his junior year. There were games such as against Northeast Louisanna, when he was 1-of-10 from the field, and against Virginia Commonwealth, when he was 3-of-13.
"When my game is on, I'm hard to stop. I can do a lot of things that make a lot of people better," Perry said. "But my game just wasn't on."
Now, however, it is. He's had career highs of 42 points and nine rebounds this year, and he no longer worries about his junior-year dropoff.
"I definitely think I'm on top of my game," Perry said last Saturday, hours before going 6-for-19 from the field in Memphis' loss to Virginia Tech. "I just feel comfortable about myself."
Perry, however, has had to endure Memphis' worst season in his four years. The young Tigers have struggled with inconsistency, and at times, Perry said, have fallen into the syndrome Tech made popular last year with Coles - standing around and watching the star go to work.
That has made it necessary for Perry, who splits time betweenpoint and shooting guard, to figure out who he is.
"When we're down or if the offense is not moving, they're waiting on me to start the offense," Perry said of his teammates. "Sometimes , you just can't at that point. Last year, I think it forced me to take a lot of shots that I didn't want to take.
"By penetrating, if nobody takes me I'm going to take the shot. If I penetrate and the guy takes me three oor four times in a row, I've got to give the ball up three or four times in a row - as long as something good is happening out of it. If I'm passing the ball in one the block three or four times. . .that's the time I know I have to take the shot."
Despite Perry's play this year, Memphis finished the regular season just 15-13 and Perry knows that doesn't bode well for the Tigers' NCAA Tournament hopes. That's why Roanoke suddenly has become an important destination for Menphis State.
"We have to win the [Metro] tournament, no question," Perry said. "We have to win the tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament."
Regarrdless of whether Memphus makes the NCAA's, the NIT or ends its season in Roanoke, Perry - who is on schedule to graduate this semesester with a marketing degree - will remain a legend in Memphis, In fact, during pregame ceremonies before the game honoring Perry in his last home game, the public address announcer introduced Perry as on of the most popular sports figures in the city of Memphis' history.
"He's meant a lot for Memphis youth because he's a role model and he's done it quietly," Finch said.
by CNB