In 1983, Randy Perkins went to The University of Northern Colorado, certain it was his ticket to professional basketball.
He never played a minute of college basketball and discovered all too late that the madness in college hoops starts long before March. He was recruited and then left high and dry after the coach he committed to was unexpectedly replaced. Now, Randy wants to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to his son, Josh.
Josh Perkins’ basketball future is still uncharted. New options pop up just about every day for the Regis Jesuit High School junior point guard, the most sought-after Colorado prep basketball prospect since Chauncey Billups starred at George Washington High School in the early 1990s.
Josh isn’t Chauncey — though some college programs might equate him with the homegrown icon to sway him — but more than 30 Division I college programs have pulled out all the stops to lure the services of Class 5A’s leading scorer and No. 4 assist man. It’s been that way since the summer after his freshman year, when Josh helped lead Regis Jesuit to the Class 5A state championship as a reserve.
He has leanings, but Josh believes in what Randy — who raised him as a single parent and has virtually “collected aluminum cans” to help pay for his tuition at private Regis Jesuit — is doing to help steer him through the chaos.
“My opinion matters, but he knows best, so I trust what he’s telling me,” Josh said.
There’s a lot to digest for a 16-year-old, who hears everything under the sun from programs under the gun with internal pressure to win in the high-profile world of NCAA men’s basketball.
Colorado’s prep basketball talent is mostly underrated nationwide, but players such as Perkins, Denver East High School’s Dom Collier and Aurora Central High School’s Carlton Hurst have become hot commodities for schools interested in players who can help them attain the big bucks, TV exposure and the glitz that goes with one of the marquee events of every sports year — the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, aka March Madness.
“The recruiting process is complicated, intriguing, exciting, overwhelming; it’s all of that and a blessing,” said Randy, who tosses in “exhausting” and “manipulative.” “You have to have a method and a process in place to deal with it. This is what I tell Josh and the other kids: I’m going to collect the data and put it on paper so you can see for yourself. Then you can make the decision. If a kid doesn’t have somebody helping him along, he could end up in Timbuktu.”
Josh’s list has been whittled down to Arizona, Colorado, Denver, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico and Stanford. It’s how it got there that’s head-spinning.
Josh drives home from Regis Jesuit practice, talking with his dad on the phone for 30 minutes as he does every day. There’s always a lot to catch up on.
Text messages continue to light up Josh’s phone — “Check us out on ESPN tonight,” “We’ll be in town to watch your game next week,” “Just checking in” and the like — all thanks to the NCAA’s elimination of restrictions on texts and private contact on Twitter and Facebook.
New hand-written notes and mass mailings — which Josh can pick out immediately because they address him as Joshua — have arrived, adding to a stack that fills Randy’s backpack and covers a pool table at his Colorado Miners facility in Denver.
Every day, Randy adds information to a spreadsheet he’s developed to cut through the “okey doke” of the process.
He used the same method to help Cherokee Trail High School’s Drick Bernstine land with the University of Denver and Grandview High School’s Eric Garcia choose Wofford University. Both play for his Miners team and he treats them as if they were his sons.
Head coaches who didn’t make an effort to talk with Perkins directly were quickly struck from the list. The rest are evaluated on several criteria.
Is a college coach on the hot seat? Job security is a must in Randy’s mind. A playground and pro-am star, Randy was burned by the regime change at University of Northern Colorado in the 1980s. When a new coach arrived with a new set of players he had no room for Randy.
What other prospects is a program looking at? Especially among the bigger programs, there’s a tendency to over-recruit, which might make the fight for playing time formidable.
Style of play is as important as anything. Josh is a mover, a creator. He won’t fit with teams who favor slow half-court sets. He needs to get up and down the floor.
All this comes before his five official campus visits, where Josh will be treated like a king. He’ll be enticed by players with almost scripted roles, shown his name adorned on a jersey and promised he’s a program’s top target.
Patience is mandatory in the process, but there’s some danger in waiting too long, as another former Regis Jesuit star, Bud Thomas, found out a few years ago.
The two-time Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year had his safety blanket offer pulled out from under him after his senior season in 2009-10 and had to scramble.
There was still a market for players with Thomas’ blend of size and skill, so he ended up with multiple D-I choices. He picked a growing program at Mercer University, which offered the chance to play right away and the best avenue for helping him fulfill his dream of playing in March Madness.
Now on the other side, Thomas has learned a lot about the process.
“It’s crazy how it is so money driven; we’re out here just playing because we love basketball, but so much of it revolves around money,” Thomas said. “It’s definitely a business.”
That business can often lead to vague or unscrupulous dealings.
In the case of Hurst, Aurora Central’s high-flying guard, coach Ian Calvert had his eyes opened. Schools were vague with their interest or moved on to other prospects before Hurst’s scheduled visits, leaving the pool of possibilities fluid on a daily basis.
Colorado State University, a growing program close to home, was the most consistent and genuine in the process. So Hurst will be a Ram and is grateful for the chance.
“It was a great learning experience; every kid wants to go through it, but most kids aren’t prepared for it,” Calvert said.
A lot is still ahead for Josh, but whatever conclusion the final spreadsheet makes for Josh, Randy can’t wait to see his son play the first minute he never did.
Aurora’s Division I hoops recruits
Drick Bernstine, sr., Cherokee Trail H.S. — Signed with University of Denver
Austin Conway, soph., Overland H.S. — Offered by University of Indiana
De’Ron Davis, fr., Overland H.S. — Offered by University of Indiana
Eric Garcia, sr., Grandview H.S. — Signed with Wofford University
Carlton Hurst, sr., Aurora Central H.S. — Signed with Colorado State
Jeremiah Paige, jr., Rangeview H.S. — Offered by CU, Colorado State, Wyoming, Northern Colorado
Josh Perkins, jr., Regis Jesuit H.S. — Choosing from Arizona, Colorado, Denver, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Stanford