The following “Sabre Hot Take” message board post was posted by HTrain90 on Tuesday. Small edits have been made for clarity.
Monday night was London Perrantes’ magnum opus as a Hoo.
London took on the task of guarding the other team’s best player, despite the fact that Justin Jackson has a half a foot on London in height. That was a masterful defensive performance, and it was all guts and “want to.”
London didn’t force his game on offense, but he was still the centerpiece of everything the team did on that end of the floor. He took big shots at big moments in the second half – after he took the time to set up teammates all night – and he made some straight-up daggers. Specifically, UNC cut the lead to one and London responded with a couple 3’s to get the lead back out to a working margin. That was amazing.
London Perrantes played his best and most complete game as a Hoo on Monday night. This year’s team hasn’t been able to “break through” as it had the previous three years, and London almost certainly felt responsibility for that. But no matter what happens from here on out, London led his team to a win against UNC and showed that this program is still among the absolute best in the ACC (even in a “down” year, relatively speaking). He was THE MAN on Monday night, and has been all season.
I am so freaking proud of how far he has come as a player, and I am so proud of how far the program has come in his four years. UVA doesn’t “hope” to win games anymore. UVA expects to win games. And when things go sideways, the team recommits on defense and finds another gear to “outwork” the other team.
This is a golden era of UVA hoops, and it’s no coincidence that adding London to the line-up as a freshman happened as the season turned around and ended in a dual ACC Championship. That was causation, not correlation.
I look forward to seeing London one more time at the John Paul Jones Arena this Saturday, and also look forward to someday seeing his name among the retired jerseys (not numbers). London Perrantes has started more games than any player ever at UVA, and he’s won a truckload of them.
That’s something special. And so was that magnum opus Monday.
“Sabre Hot Take” message board posts are highlighted periodically by TheSabre.com. See a post that you think would make the grade? Let us know!
