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London Perrantes |
University of Virginia-bound point guard London Perrantes has been on a tear of late. The Crespi Carmelite (Encino, CA) senior earned MVP honors at the Proviso West Tournament, a 32-team event that took place December 26 through 31 in Chicago (IL), and has kept up his stellar play in Mission League wins over Harvard-Westlake and Alemany.
“Based off of his performance in Chicago, I’d say he has progressed tremendously,” Crespi head coach Russell White said when asked about Perrantes’ improvement from last year to this year. “He was MVP of the tournament and we won the consolation game, which says a lot about his performance.
This season, the 6’1”, 180-pound Perrantes “is more assertive offensively,” White said. “He has to be. Statistically, his 3-point shooting percentage is up and rebounds are up.
“Defensively, he guards every position on the floor and plays every position in our zone. He always guards the other team’s best player in the fourth.”
In five games at the Proviso West tourney, Perrantes averaged 25 points per game, making 64 percent of his 3s in the process. He had two games with double-digit rebounds (14 and 11 in Crespi’s final two tournament games) en route to earning MVP honors. After losing its first game, Crespi won four straight to win the consolation bracket.
“He took it to a new level,” White said, referring to Perrantes’ play at the Proviso. “Hopefully, he’ll keep it up in league play the next five weeks.”
Coach White has got his wish so far. Perrantes scored 33 points and dished out seven assists in an 84-81 win Harvard-Westlake, and on Monday night he scored 30 points in a 93-81 win over Alemany. He has scored over 30 points in four of his past five games.
Passing-wise, “London is averaging five or six assists per game, but we don’t have many other options,” White said. “He’s scoring more because we need him to, but when he gets to Virginia he’ll be dropping dimes everywhere.”
White, whose team is now 12-5 overall and 2-0 in the Mission League, says that Perrantes is a calm, cool leader for his team.
“I love his demeanor,” White said. “He’s doesn’t get too up or too down. He just plays. The best part of his game is his poise. He doesn’t get rattled… ever.”
Cape Henry Reaches 10-Win Mark
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Devon Hall at the 2012 Nike EYBL in Hampton |
6’5″, 205-pound senior point guard Devon Hall , who will join Perrantes in Charlottesville next season, and the Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach, VA) Dolphins rallied from an 8-point halftime deficit this past Saturday to defeat a talented Charlottesville Miller School team, 66-55. (Miller features a handful of prospects standout class of 2014 wing forward Isaac Copeland, who has been offered by UVa and was in attendance for the UNC/UVa game last Sunday). The win is the Dolphins’ 10th of the 2012/2013 season.
Cape Henry’s ninth win wasn’t as easy. Down by five with 2:31 to play in the fourth, the Dolphins scored six straight points to claim victory over Kecoughtan High School (Hampton, VA). Hall came through in the clutch, scoring four of his 10 points in the final 2-plus minutes, including the game winner off a steal to capture the 1-point win.
“Devon’s a general. That’s the nickname I have for him,” CHC head coach Mark Hall Sr. said. “He’s doing a fantastic job of leading the team and coming through in the clutch. I call him an old soul. He leads the team and gets everyone involved. I’d love for him to get more shots, but our team is balanced with the way things work right now. Everyone averages about the same amount, and that is good for us.”
The Dolphins are 10-1 overall this season. Six games have been decided by five points or less, and CHC is 5-1 in those close contests. After hosting Williamsburg Christian Academy on Thursday night, the Dolphins will take on national power Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV) at 4 pm on Saturday. The game can be seen live on ESPN.
