NCAA Final:Texas Southern 64, N.C. Central 46
Here is our list of locals that will be taking the court for the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament that gets under way tonight in Dayton, Ohio….
There may be others, but here is what we have so far…..
Jordan Perkins(Greensboro Day School)….He will be playing tomorrow night for N.C. Central vs. Texas Southern, at Dayton, Ohio…
Sam Hunt(Dudley HS)….He will be playing on Thursday for N.C. State vs. Seton Hall, at Wichita, Kansas…
Jeremy Harris(Page HS)….He will be playing on Thursday for Buffalo vs. Arizona, at Boise, Idaho…
Kylia Sykes(Page HS)….He will be playing on Thursday for UNCG vs. Gonzaga, at Boise, Idaho…(Sykes was Page for one year, about 5-6 years ago.)
Theo Pinson(Wesleyan Christian Academy)….He will by playing on Friday for North Carolina vs. Lipscomb, at Charlotte…
Kane Ma(New Garden Friends School)….He will be playing on Friday for North Carolina vs. Lipscomb, at Charlotte…
Walker Miller(from Greensboro, UNCG coach Wes Miller’s brother and played high school ball at New Hampton Prep in N.H.)….He will be playing on Friday, for North Carolina vs. Lipscomb, at Charlotte…
Michael Buckland(Wesleyan Christian Academy)…He will be playing on Friday, for Lipscomb vs. North Carolina, at Charlotte….Big game for Michael Buckland, going up against the team he followed as a kid growing up in the Triad….
Jalen Johnson(Wesleyan Christian Academy)…He will be playing for Tennessee on Thursday vs. Wright State, in Dallas….
Ben Robertson(High Point Christian Academy)…He will be playing for Bucknell on Friday vs. Michigan State, in Detroit….
*****Notes on Jordan Perkins(Greensboro Day School) from his coach, Levelle Moton, at N.C. Central…..*****
from www.charlotteobserver.com
“It’s one thing to be Tito Jackson, then it’s one thing to be Tito Jackson solo,” Moton said. “That’s a different type thing. No disrespect to Tito, but when you’re playing the guitar back there, and you got that guy with the little Afro (Michael) performing, life is a little easier. They were part of those Jackson Five teams where all they had to do was play the guitar. Now we’re asking them to go out there and do what Michael did.”
In high school, Perkins was on one the best teams in the nation at Greensboro Day, where he played for a national championship his senior season. But like Moton said, he was part of a talented roster.
Perkins leads the team in assists, but can be erratic at times, leading the team in turnovers.
But Moton has trusted the freshman duo(Jordan Perkins and Reggie Gardner) enough to start a combined 58 games, and here they are, leading the Eagles back into the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. Last season, Moton felt like the stage was too big for his group of seniors, so what can he expect with an even younger team this time around?
“Our freshman, not knowing is probably the best thing for them,” Moton said.
Perkins, who played in the Dick’s High School National tournament as a senior, said he came out on the floor at UD Arena in Dayton on and took in all the sites and sounds before the Eagles’ open practice on Tuesday. But once the ball is thrown up in Wednesday’s game, it’s just basketball.
“When I first got here I was like ‘wow, this is March Madness,’” Perkins said. “I grew up watching it on television. Never imagined I’d be here. I’m happy to be here, everyone doesn’t get this chance so I’m happy to get it as a freshman.”
In the MEAC title game against Hampton, Perkins and teammate Reggie Gardner combined for 24 points. On the court, Perkins, naturally as the point guard, is the vocal one. Gardner has a very quiet demeanor, but both, Moton said, have a swagger to them you typically don’t see from first year players.
“Jordan is fearless,” Moton said. “He’s going to make some freshman mistakes, but he’s fearless. Reggie, I have to get some of Jordan’s fearlessness in him and get him to understand that even if his shot is not falling he can still help us on this basketball floor.”
+++++Read the entire article from Jonas Pope IV, at the Charlotte Observer, when you CLICK HERE…….+++++