AURORA | Josh Perkins is taking his talents to West Virginia.
Perkins starred for three seasons at Regis Jesuit, but announced Saturday via Twitter account that he would play his senior year at Huntington Prep in Huntington, W. Va.
The 6-foot-2 point guard was the Aurora Sentinel’s Co-Player of the Year for the 2012-13 boys basketball season along with Aurora Central’s Carlton Hurst, as Perkins averaged 25.2 points per game to lead Class 5A and also finished second in the state in assists at 6.5 per contest for coach Ken Shaw’s Raiders.
“I will be attending Huntington Prep high school for the 2013-14 season! My regards to the entire Regis community! I love y’all!,” Perkins sent out via Twitter at 3:25 p.m. Saturday, shortly after his father, Randy sent out a similar message via the Colorado Miners account he runs.
“If you are the best player at the playground, its time to find a new playground”….truer words have never been spoken,” Randy Perkins tweeted later after thanking Shaw and the Regis Jesuit community for his son’s experience there.
A few hours earlier, it was announced that Perkins — ranked in the top 50 prospects in the country by most recruiting services — would make unofficial visits to UCLA and USC, two of a large group of Division I schools in pursuit of the talented guard, a highly-regarded passer who is also known for his highlight reel dunks, long range shooting and a tremendous ability to get to the free throw line.
Neither school is on the list of nine he had cut his list down to in Feburary, a group that included Arizona, Colorado, Denver, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico and Stanford.
With Denver East senior-to-be Dom Collier — the state’s other top prospect in the Class of 2014 — giving his verbal commitment to Colorado, Perkins is likely to look elsewhere given the two play the same position.
Coach Ron Fulford and Huntington Prep went 30-3 last season with the help of Andrew Wiggins, considering the top recruit in the nation who decided to sign with Kansas.
As a junior, Perkins helped Regis Jesuit to a 21-5 mark and advance to the Great 8 round of the 5A state tournament, where they were beaten by eventual state champion Eaglecrest.
In his sophomore season, Perkins averaged 18.6 points and 5.2 assists per game for the Raiders, who were upset by Poudre in the second round of the playoffs.
Perkins filled a role as a reserve as a freshman, coming off the bench to provide a spark for a Regis Jesuit team that won its third consecutive 5A state championship.
Notes: Perkins isn’t the only Regis Jesuit athlete to leave the school and play out east. Lacrosse star Tanner Scales left Regis Jesuit after his sophomore season to Salisbury in Connecticut for a year. Scales returned to Regis Jesuit for his senior season and is now a freshman standout on the lacrosse team at the University of Virginia.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
JOSH PERKINS AS STARTER AT REGIS JESUIT
2012-13 (26 games): 655 points (25.2 ppg), 169 assists (6.5 apg), 180 rebounds (6.9 rpg)
2011-12 (24 games): 447 points (18.6 ppg), 124 assists (5.2 apg), 96 rebounds (4.0 rpg)
Totals (2 seasons, 50 games): 1,102 points (22 ppg), 293 assist (5.9 apg), 276 rebounds (5.5 rpg)
