Prospect Spotlight: Deon Perry (2022)
The MIAA A Conference has a reputation of being one of the top conferences for basketball that you can find on the east coast. When you take a look at the standings and see the teams who are struggling to…
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Continue ReadingThe MIAA A Conference has a reputation of being one of the top conferences for basketball that you can find on the east coast. When you take a look at the standings and see the teams who are struggling to collect wins, you have to take into consideration their schedule and their roster. More times than not, the teams that struggle are comprised of many young players. That was the case with Mt. Carmel this past season. The cougars finished with a 7-24 overall record, but there were a few bright spots to take along the way. One of the biggest bright spots was the play of freshman point guard Deon Perry.
“The beginning of the season was tough for us because of the coaching change,” Perry continued, “and we also had a lot of new players playing together so we had to get our chemistry down.”
Perry came in an asserted himself immediately as a guy that the Cougars could lean on for production.
“The new coach made sure I was taking on a lot of responsibility,” Perry told Prep Hoops. “He basically wanted to build the team around me. My role was to get everyone involved in the game and then as I did that, look for my own opportunities when they came. The points that I was scoring was coming off the flow of the game and benefiting off my teammates’ energy.”
The MIAA offers a daunting list of points guards to line up against. Last season, Perry had to match up with the likes of Ace Baldwin, Jalen Rucker, Ausar Crawley and many more dynamic play-making floor generals. For Perry, he knew that it came with the territory and embraced the challenge.
“I don’t really think about the names of who I’m going up against,” Perry said. “It’s just another person guarding me. To me, it doesn’t matter who we play. At the end of the day, we’re both basketball players. As far as me playing against those guys though, it was a challenge. They didn’t give me nothing easy. I had to learn how to fight the entire game.”
Throughout the recent years, we’ve seen more and more freshman come play for their respective varsity teams. There is a huge learning curve coming from the middle school level, but most of these freshman we see seem to be making a smooth transition. It was the same for Perry.
“The pace of the game was something to adjust to,” Perry continued, “but I think it was more of just playing against bigger and more athletic players every night. I had to learn how to change the pace of the game, too. The game is more physical as well. It was a challenge playing through it at first, but it’s just all a part of the game.”
At 5-foot-9, Perry usually finds himself as being one of the smallest players on the floor. Considering his production, Perry didn’t allow the opposing team’s bigs to stop him from scoring in the painted area.
“Smaller players have to have the mindset of being a dog on both ends of the floor,” Perry said. “I felt as though I played hard every game, but I could’ve been better on defense. Offensively, I adjusted well to it. Playing in pick-and-rolls when there’s guys who are 6-foot-9 trying to stop you, I just play whatever they give me. If they back off I’m going to shoot it, but if they step up too much, I’m fast enough to go by them and get to the rim.”
Perry was one of two freshman to be recognized by the MIAA. He and Tyson Commander (John Carroll) were both recipients of the All MIAAA Honorable Mention Award.
Now that the league is on notice about Perry’s ability to shoot the three-point shot with considerable range, it’ll be important for him to continue to build on his skills as an overall scorer.
“This offseason I really want to just get stronger,” Perry claimed. “I’m already one of the smaller and quicker guys on the floor, so if I can get stronger and be better at finishing over the rotating big men, it could add a lot to my game.”
This spring and summer, Perry is helping lead a talented Team Melo squad with a bunch of scorers. It’ll be a good opportunity to grow as a play maker, but once August hits, it’ll be time to prepare for another productive year in the MIAA.