One visit was all it took to convince Crespi (Encino, CA) senior point guard London Perrantes that the University of Virginia was where he wanted to be for the next four years. The 6’1″, 180-pound prospect has verbally committed to Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett.
“I am happy to say… I have Verbally Committed to the University Of Virginia! #HooNation,” Perrantes wrote on Twitter at around 8 o’clock EST Monday night.
Perrantes took an official visit to UVa this past weekend, and the initial plan was to visit Washington State, Illinois, and Arizona State before making a college choice. Obviously, he found what he was looking for in Charlottesville. He had offers from all four schools as well as Southern Cal, Saint Mary’s, and more.
In an interview with TheSabre in late July, Perrantes provided his impression of head coach Tony Bennett and assistant coach Ritchie McKay. McKay served as his primary recruiter for the Cavaliers.
“They are laid back… people I can talk to easily,” Perrantes said.
UVa began pursuing Perrantes this past spring. Bennett extended the offer in late July.
“[Bennett] called me and told me he loved the way I played,” Perrantes said days after landing the offer. “He said he wanted me to come visit the campus, and he said he wanted to offer me a scholarship.”
Perrantes earned Daily News first-team all-area and first-team all-Mission League honors last season as a junior, when he guided Crespi to a 20-6 regular season record and an appearance in the Southern Sectional 4-AA semifinals. He averaged 16 points and six assists per game in 2011/2012.
“I definitely think I’m a good leader. I run the team, and when it comes down to it I will score. Scoring is something I do well, and I get my teammates involved at the same time,” Perrantes said when asked to describe his game.
“I definitely use other people’s size and quickness against them. Even if they are quicker than me, I think they can’t guard me. That helps me a lot. I’m definitely working on my jumper. I feel it has improved a lot.”
A position that looked like a possible weakness in the 2013 season now has the potential to be a strength. Perrantes is the second point guard commit in the class, joining Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach, VA) product Devon Hall .
Coach Bennett “definitely thinks me and [Hall] can be a duo in the backcourt. He thinks we would play off each other well,” Perrantes said.
Attempts to reach Virginia’s newest commitment have been unsuccessful so far, but I hope to have much more from him this week. Perrantes is rated a 4-star prospect by ESPN.com, which has him as its no. 83 overall player in the nation in the class of 2013.
“London Perrantes to Virginia. This is a reliable, system PG who is a thinking man’s feel type player. Undervalued stock IMO,” ESPN.com National Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep tweeted Monday night.
TheSabre’s Take: As it stands, UVa has no more scholarships available in the 2013 season. Virginia was expected to host top senior power forward Austin Nichols on an official this weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens in that regard.
Now, back to Perrantes’ commitment. This is a player I like a lot, and I certainly think he can co-exist with Hall. Hall has the ability and the size to play the one, two, or three positions. Both players have excellent feel on the court and are outstanding at putting their teammates in position to succeed. Most of all, both players are team-oriented guys. Basketball savvy and team dedication are two things Bennett really wants in his players. Finally, I think both players have good potential also in terms of scoring from the perimeter and getting to the basket.
Check out the video below for highlights of Perrantes from this past spring on the AAU circuit. He is no. 1 in the black jersey.
