AURORA | Former Regis Jesuit boys basketball standout Josh Perkins has the chance he’s been looking to play in the NBA.
Per multiple sources, the Charlotte Hornets signed Perkins — who recently completed an outstanding NCAA career at Gonzaga — to an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a one-year contract worth the league’s minimum salary.
The Hornets can choose to keep the 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard on the roster or could designate him for the developmental G League if they want to keep his rights. Either way, Perkins has the chance to make an impression.
“Thank you for taking a chance, all I needed was an opportunity,” Perkins tweeted.
Thank you for taking a chance, all I needed was an opportunity pic.twitter.com/IG5jWU3vYP
— Josh Perkins (@JoshPerk13) June 22, 2019
Perkins spent his first three prep seasons at Regis Jesuit, helping coach Ken Shaw’s Raiders win the Class 5A state championship in the 2010-11 season. He was a valuable reserve for a Regis Jesuit team that featured another Division I player in Bud Thomas, a two-time Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.
As a junior, Perkins earned the Sentinel’s Co-Player of the Year honors (along with Colorado State signee Carlton Hurst of Aurora Central) for a season in which he averaged a 5A-best 25.2 points per game and also dished out 6.5 assists and pulled down 6.9 rebounds per contest before he chose to finish his high school career at Huntington Prep in West Virginia.
Gonzaga emerged as the choice from a slew of more than 30 Division I programs who made overtures of interest to Perkins and his father, Randy, and he played three full seasons with the Bulldogs after he redshirted his freshman season due to injury.
For his career, Perkins appeared in 116 games (108 of them starts) for Gonzaga and averaged 9.9 points and 4.1 assists per game. His career-highs of 12.3 points and 5.3 assists came in his final season.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
