Elijah Perkins served as a team player for Camden, and he’ll look to make an impact at Austin Peay

Elijah Perkins was sitting in a hotel room with his parents on an official visit in late March when he decided he’d commit to Austin Peay after months of discourse about what school would be the right fit.

The next night they went out to dinner near the campus in Clarksville, Tenn.. After watching St. Peter’s down Purdue in the Sweet 16 with Governors coach Nate James, Perkins shared his decision.

“We were all outside just talking around and I was like, ‘Hey Coach, I think I’m ready to commit. I’m ready to be a Governor,’” Perkins said. “He was like, ‘Aw, really?’ I said yes, and he started smiling and jumping up and down.”

The Camden guard publicly announced his commitment via Twitter on April 4. Austin Peay will be his third school in three years — a journey that has been integral in his development.

Perkins played his first three years of high school at the Ranney School, a basketball powerhouse in Tinton Falls, N.J., about 15 minutes from where he grew up in Middletown.

In Perkins’ freshman season, Ranney was headlined by two McDonald’s All-Americans — Scottie Lewis, now on a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets, and Bryan Antoine, a junior at Villanova. In 2019, Ranney was the top-ranked team in New Jersey.

“Coming in as a freshman on that type of team, that’s kind of what prepared him,” his mother, Kia, said. “[It made him want to] keep being in that type of atmosphere and excel. Constantly pushing himself and just extending his game.”

By his junior year, Elijah was averaging 18 points per game, according to his father, Tremont. But Tremont thinks Elijah could have averaged 30, if not for his unselfish nature. That made the transition to Camden for his senior year, joining a team coming off a 13-game undefeated season, a bit smoother.

Elijah and his family were looking at schools like Westtown (West Chester), Oak Hill (Virginia) and Link Academy (Missouri) before choosing Camden. For his parents, picking Camden was about keeping him close to home and giving him the best opportunity to prepare for college.

For the 6-foot-4 guard, it meant playing with his friends.

The New Jersey Scholars AAU program was loaded with Division I talent in the summer of 2021, including a trio from Camden. It was the first time Elijah played with the top-ranked duo of D.J. Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw along with Panthers point guard Cian Medley.

“We’d be talking about it in practice just playing around,” Elijah said. “We bonded throughout the season and from Peach Jam and everything. We were like we might as well really do it.”

Elijah went from being a primary option his junior season at Ranney to joining a Camden team with an established foundation. He moved off the ball, wrapping his arms around his new role in an effort to extend Camden’s winning ways, and the Panthers ended up capturing the Group 2 state title.

“I think at that point, it’s not really a game,” Elijah said. “It’s like us at the court playing pickup with randoms. It’s just us having fun at that point. It just elevates our game.”

Tremont proudly shares that’s always been his son’s persona: an easygoing kid with a ceaseless smile.

When Elijah was in fourth grade at Bayview Elementary, Tremont got a letter from his teacher. He had been chosen as the recipient of the school’s Citizenship Award, honoring a student who embodies strong moral values.

The Perkins family got another letter from the mother of one of Elijah’s classmates, who was diagnosed with autism. She wanted to send her gratitude for his being so kind to her son.

Tremont, beaming with pride but initially struck with confusion, asked his son who the other boy was. His fourth-grade son looked at him and said, “Oh, that’s my friend.”

“That was it. He didn’t look at him as being different,” Tremont said. “He just always made sure he got a shot when they played. I said for my son to do that and not be prompted to do it. Or not say, ‘Hey, I feel sorry for the kid.’ He just said, ‘Hey, that’s my friend.’ I’m like wow, that’s him in the fourth grade. So, he’s always been that type of kid.”

Austin Peay assistant coach Jason Harris got wind of Elijah’s basketball prowess during his senior year. Harris and James started making trips north to see Camden play. They officially offered the class of 2022 guard a scholarship in January.

Elijah made his decision by virtue of the family feel in Clarksville. Kia says the campus reminds her of Middletown.

He’ll be moving back into a more ball-dominant guard role for the Governors. The second-year coach and his staff want their third commitment from the 2022 class to be a playmaker. That means facilitating the offense and defending at a high level.

Austin Peay is 13 hours away by car or 2½ hours by plane. Kia has some bittersweet feelings because he’s moving so far and she’s terrified of flying. But she’s grateful to see James be as elated to have Elijah as Elijah is to be committing to Austin Peay, which can sign him to a national letter of intent beginning Wednesday.

His father is just proud that someone of James’ caliber — a Duke basketball alum (1996-2001) who joined coach Mike Krzyzewski’s staff in 2008, staying with the Blue Devils until 2021 — sees “something good in my son.”

“Like I always say, it takes a village to help raise these kids,” Kia said. “With him being the kid that he is, people don’t mind helping him or training him or being involved. The one thing I do appreciate is whoever I’m talking to, they always say he’s such a good kid. He’s a team player. Anything to help the team. That’s him.”