4-star Georgia guard commits to Louisville
Louisville basketball has its second commitment for the 2017 class, with four-star Georgia guard Darius Perry pledging to the Cards on Tuesday.
Perry, who picked U of L over Georgia, joins four-star big man Malik Williams in committing to Louisville, which has two more scholarships open for its next signing class. The 6-foot-2 point guard made the decision after visiting Louisville the first weekend of August and UGA this past weekend.
He is ranked as high as 48th in the nation by ESPN, and the 247Sports Composite, a compilation of recruiting rankings from multiple websites, rates Perry 64th in his class and 14th among point guards. He is considered a four-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals and Scout.
"We went by our plan," said Eric Perry, Darius' dad and AAU coach. "We just didn't advertise it. We did our plan. We narrowed it down to the final five, then the final three, then the final two, which was Louisville and Georgia. We visited the schools and evaluated what was best for Darius."
READ MORE: Darius Perry's recruiting profile
Perry's dad said four factors played into their decision: fit, style of play, potential for growth and the opportunity to play for U of L head coach Rick Pitino. Eric Perry said they took in an intense team practice during their official visit to U of L, and they also watched an individual instruction session.
The individual instruction included a lot of what Perry and his son already work on, the elder Perry said.
"He felt at home," Eric Perry said. "He loved the way they conducted the practices. He loved the way they worked with the players. He loved the individual instruction."
Louisville entered the 2016 recruiting cycle hoping to land a protege to work with junior point guard Quentin Snider, who will be a senior when Perry is a freshman. The Cards had narrowed their recruiting chase down to several point men, a list that also included Makai Ashton-Langford, Matt Coleman, Quade Green and Lindell Wigginton.
U of L's coaching staff followed Perry through much of July, watching him several times the first weekend in South Carolina and making repeat appearances at his games over the next few weekends. Perry was one of the top performers on the Adidas AAU circuit, averaging 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game for his dad's team.
READ MORE: Big Board 3.0 | U of L's 2017 recruiting targets
Perry's dad said he mentioned Louisville to his son long before the Cards or any other schools started recruiting him. Their style of play, with frenetic defense and fullcourt pressure, fit the younger Perry well, his dad said in July.
"He’s one of the few kids on the (AAU) circuit who plays defense and prides himself on defense," Eric Perry said in July. "He’s also a scoring point guard, though he can set up others, too."
The pledge, like the commitment from the 6-foot-10 Williams, comes as U of L is still under investigation by the NCAA. Eric Perry said that inquiry wasn't a concern of his or his son's during the recruiting process.
"It came up in conversations between us," Eric Perry said. "But once we learned what is ahead, it eased any concerns we had, and we really didn't have any."
