By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
ROBERSONVILLE — He can dribble, rebound, shoot, pass the ball and play defense, and do each well. Amos Perkins is the prototypical Roanoke player, keeping up a tradition of well-rounded, basketball savvy athletes that are a potential triple-double every time they step on the court.
Perkins has also kept alive another Redskins tradition — winning.
This season Roanoke won its third straight Atlantic Conference title, made it to the third round of the playoffs for the second time in three years and, once again, produced a Washington Daily News Basketball Player of the Year.
The 6-2 senior led the Redskins to a 16-12 record by posting 15 points per game, while pulling down seven boards a night and dishing out 6.5 assists.
Perkins’ versatile playing style, along with his team’s success, made him an easy choice as the area’s top baller.
The Redskins’ senior said playing as a team helped increase his stats.
The senior that could seemingly score at will, but seemed content with setting up his fellow teammates, said his biggest accomplishment of the season was winning the Atlantic Conference title and keeping the school’s streak alive.
The Redskins, who produced the 2006-07 player of the year in Daquan Lloyd, has a strong lineage of winning players, and Perkins didn’t want to face the ribbing from alumni that would have come with not winning the conference.
Perkins’ commitment to winning meant that he played three to four positions on any given night, with his role in the game changing just as easily.
One of Perkins’ primary roles on the team was to facilitate the offense. The quarterback of any team is always going to have his passing come into question, but Pittman said that Perkins handled it well.
This season, Perkins seems to have always made the right choice, and despite his self-described flashy nature, Pittman gave him an “A” on his decision making this season.
Between the varsity and junior varsity teams, Pittman has been Perkins’ coach for the last four seasons, and said that he could tell he had the makings of a great player.
Perkins’ burning desire to win is what made him an excellent team leader this season.
Despite his slim 6-2 frame, Perkins is able to one-up opponents because of his knowledge of the game.