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Player Diary: Phillip Perry Of Proviso East
Phillip Perry (Proviso East) Brian Stinnette Special To ChicagoHoops.com August 3, 2004 Email Questions/Comments To brian@chicagohoops.com Phillip "Mickey" Perry of Proviso East High School, a University of Wisconsin recruit, brings the fourth installment of his player diary to ChicagoHoops.com. Phillip ranks as one of the top Class of 2005 basketball prospects in the state of Illinois, and will bring us a special look inside his recruitment, and his life on and off of the basketball court. What a month! I was home for a total of just 3 days during the month of July. It was a hectic month, but a very good one. It was great to be back out with the Illinois Warriors on the AAU circuit. We played at the Nike Peach Jam in South Carolina, the 17-U Super Showcase in Orlando, Florida and the Jerry Mullen Last Chance Showcase in Kansas City, Missouri. We won both the Peach Jam, and the Jerry Mullen. The Peach Jam was the highlight of the entire month. It is such a prestigious tournament, with so much tradition, and the atmosphere is incredible. I really feel like I left my mark and made an impact there, especially in the semifinals. Winning the Jerry Mullen Tournament was also a great feeling. Even though we didn't have all of our guys, we still pulled together as a team to gut out the championship. Looking back, I have fond memories of the entire summer. I really bonded with Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North). He really became a close friend over the summer. I will always remember the Spiece Run-N-Slam back in May. I feel that tournament really put me on the basketball map. Things really started to happen for me after my performance there. Now it is time to focus on Proviso East! Everything right now for me is about the Proviso East basketball team. I want to get downstate very, very badly. I am not interested in any individual honors for myself, I just want the team to win. Down in Kansas City, I spent a lot of time talking with Justin Dentmon about what it takes to get downstate. He took his Carbondale team to the Final Four last year, so he knows how to get there. I am going to spend the next few weeks learning as much as I can. I have all of the Proviso East games from last year on tape, so I am going to study them, and focus on making good decisions on the basketball court. I am going to be lifting weights four times a week to continue to get stronger, and I will also be running a lot to build up my wind. This is my senior year, and like I said, I want to win very badly. I am going to start waking up my teammates, and taking them to the gym with me. If we are going to get downstate it is going to have to be a total effort by all of us, and we have to come together as a team. We have a tough early season schedule which includes the Schaumburg Thanksgiving Tournament which features us, Schaumburg, Thornton and St. Joe's. At Christmas, we have the Proviso West Holiday Tournament, which always has a super tough field of teams, so we know we will be tested early. It has been a great experience writing my diary all summer, and I would like to give shout out to all the fans at Proviso East High School. We are going to try and bring it back home this year! I would also like to thank the entire Illinois Warriors team. It was a great experience, and something that i will remember my whole life. I would like to thank God for my health, and the opportunities that he has given me in life. As always, I want to send out a special thank you to my mom, and let her know that i appreciate all that she does for me. Thank you, Phillip Perry Proviso East High School |
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