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World Champion Perkins shares winning insight
BY Richard C. White Staff Writer
Fresh off his team’s ascent to the NBA mountaintop, Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins gave a lesson in what it takes to have the heart of a champion to a gym full of ecstatic Premier Basketball Camp participants Wednesday afternoon at Schimelpfenig Middle School.
Perkins’ visit comes just weeks after the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers to clinch the 2007-08 NBA title.
Perkins, who didn’t get any similar opportunities in his youth, jumped at the chance to share his time with inquisitive young minds.
The 6-foot-10 Nederland, Texas native, who grew up in Beaumont, was drafted out of Ozen High School in 2003 and has been the starting center for the Celtics since 2006.
Perkins averaged 6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the 2007-08 season, while also setting career highs in points (24) and rebounds (20) earlier in the year.
Premier Camp coordinator Mike Welch is thankful that a player of Perkins’ caliber made the time to offer a helping hand and share his advice with the campers.
“We’re really fortunate because anytime you win an NBA championship everybody wants your time; you’re in high demand,” he said. “There’s only one world championship team with five starters and we got one of them here. It’s a real special day. He has a special way about him.”
For the last 20 years Premier Basketball Camps has offered an organized learning environment for boys and girls ages 6-14 throughout North Texas.
Perkins used his team’s recent world title as a perfect example of how the campers should persevere through to whatever goal they set.
“I’m going to teach them about hard work and never giving up on your dreams,” he said. “I just want to go out there and spread a little knowledge.”
The message Perkins chose to share was simple. He asked the nearly 50 campers in attendance to say along with him, “Hard work pays off.”
The campers followed his lead as a thunderous roar of self-affirmation erupted through the gym and echoed through the nearby empty hallways.
The joy the children felt began half an hour earlier as they lined up to have their photo taken with Perkins.
One camper couldn’t contain his excitement as he jumped up and down, shouting and pointing, “I see the basketball player! I see him!” when Perkins first arrived through the gym doors.
Perkins’ visit left an indelible impression on many campers, including 10-year-old Cameron Flautt, who is a fifth grader at Prince of Peace.
“It’s better than life,” Flautt exclaimed. “It’s a once in a lifetime chance. I’ll never forget it!”
Before the campers took turns participating in a 3-on-3 drill with Perkins, he answered any questions they had about him and his career.
One of the older campers asked, “Do you ever get tired of being treated like a superstar?”
Perkins responded to the potentially difficult question with an answer from the heart.
“I’m not a superstar, I’m just a pro basketball player,” Perkins said. “I always try to take the time to sign autographs because I know in 10 years nobody may want my autograph anymore, so I take advantage of it.”
Another camper asked, “How long did you guys celebrate?”
With a big grin on his face, Perkins replied, “We’re still celebrating. It hasn’t stopped.”
As he enters his sixth season in the NBA, whether he wins five more titles or goes the rest of his career with just the one, Perkins will always carry with him the moment of joy that last month’s NBA Finals victory provided.
“It was an overwhelming moment; unbelievable,” he said. “It was something I embraced at the time and am still embracing. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment because it’s still sinking in right now.”
Not everything has been joyful as of late for Perkins though as the Celtics center underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, which had been bothering him at times this past season, a week earlier.
“They stuck three screws in the back of my shoulder to give me some support,” Perkins said. “I just got to wait and see how it goes.”
Perkins nursed the shoulder throughout the 3-on-3 drills, keeping it motionless against his side, never lifting his left arm any higher than his waistline.
Even though he’s still recovering from the surgery, Perkins said it wasn’t going to stop him from visiting the campers at Schimelpfenig and helping them dream of achieving great things, stating, “I just want to give them hope.”
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