Sometimes, Javonte Perkins still is Javonte Perkins.
"Yeah, I'm still me," Perkins said with a smile, in reference to his back-to-back games of 27 and 18 points. "It was good to show everybody that — hey, I can still do it."
Once a take-over-the-game guy, St. Louis U.'s Perkins missed last season because of knee surgery — and has sure missed a lot of shots this season. But he recently scored the jaw-dropping 27 at George Washington (with an eye-popping 11-for-16 performance from the field). The following game, again on the road, he totaled 18 against Loyola-Chicago.
And so, the next matchup was Saturday. At home. And against La Salle. The Explorers entered the game ranked No. 276 nationally, per KenPom.com (SLU was 79th and third-best in the Atlantic 10 Conference).
I came for a fireworks show.
I got a front-driveway kid holding a sparkler.
It's a reminder of the cruel realities of returning from injury — plus the effects of an additional injury this season. Against La Salle, Perkins didn't make a field goal in the first half. He finished with two total field goals made and 11 points, quite close to his season average (11.2).
Eleven points in a victory still is important. Perkins and his teammates were smiling after the 84-71 win. But this was a guy who made two or fewer field goals just once in all of 2020-21. And made more than two in every conference game in 2019-20.
Perkins said Saturday that an ankle injury has bothered him this season. Trying to move out there on the court, he'll feel a strength-sapping weakness in his ankle, which affects his leg (and, really, his everything).
"Javonte is still not back to 100% — he's going to hopefully get there at some point," SLU coach Travis Ford said. "We've just kind of been rolling with him. Some days are better than others. But I think he's shown what he's capable of doing — we all know what he's capable of doing. But we've seen some bigger glimpses of it lately — and I don't see any reason he won't keep playing that way. But some games are better than others."
What a cool story he was — a St. Louis native (Miller Career Academy) came to his city's school and became a shooting star (17.1 points per game in 2020-21). Unfortunately, without Perkins always playing like Perkins this season (and other players underachieving, too), SLU lost a few winnable games in nonconference play. SLU should be 17-3; SLU instead is 14-6. Not that 17-3 would be a guarantee for the NCAA Tournament. The likely lone way from the Atlantic 10 Conference to the Big Dance is to win the conference tourney.
And so, what a cool story he still can be.
He won't score 27 points every game (or even 17), but the wise veteran still can contribute.
Maybe the best way to look at him is — the glass is still half-full (instead of half-empty). He'll still go on some scoring binges. He seldom turns the ball over. He's a reliable free throw shooter, which means Ford can draw up plays for him late in close games. And in real time he's becoming a better and smarter player on defense, dedicating himself to a lower stance more often.
"Defense is what we hang our hat on over here," he said. "If the offense isn't going, playing defense gets you going a lot of different ways."
And he sure can be timely. While SLU beat La Salle, the game was closer than the final score.
Ford's Billikens only led by one point at halftime.
And La Salle led by six points with 16:54 left.
That's when Perkins (0 for five) finally made a shot.
Followed by another — a 3-pointer.
"I knew once I found one, I could get another one back, so I was just telling myself that," the senior said. "... Once I made the first one, I was shooting the second one regardless, because I felt the rhythm. I knew that will help the team out."
That sparked a 12-0 run . SLU took the lead and never relinquished that.
Going forward, the good news for SLU is other players are perking up like a Perkins. For instance, Sincere Parker scored 20 points in the La Salle game. This is a player who poured in points at the junior college level a year ago. Before this season, Ford was sincere about Parker's ability to make 3s — but the kid started the year two for 22.
Well, since then, Parker shot 10 for 21 from beyond the arc, including two for three against the Explorers.
And Francis Okoro, whose game is fueled by hustling hard on the boards, is sure hustling harder on the boards of late.
So, we'll keep an eye on SLU as the Billikens — and Perkins — find their footing. There still are plenty of steps to take before the crucial conference tournament.
