Talent pool deep to pick Perry’s best in basketball
The Perry Panthers have registered nine state boys basketball championships in school history, with eight of those coming when coached by the iconic Eric Staples, who roamed the sidelines between 1933 and 1965.
Their ninth and last crown came in 1966, the year after Staples stepped down, under Paul Hartman.
It’s a challenge to pick the top five high school basketball players to play at Perry, or for that matter, any school. There are dozens to choose from during the Staples era, plus others from the post-integration years. I have gotten a lot of opinions from people in Perry and, as you can imagine, there are some differing thoughts.
But here is my all-time top five for the Panthers. I actually saw several of them in action, but basically relied on statistics and recommendations for those chosen.
Lee Martin was a three-year starter for Perry in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the only reason he didn’t start as a sophomore was because he sat out the season with a knee injury suffered while playing football.
He averaged 18 points per game as a junior and 20 as a senior while hitting 43 percent of his shots from the field and helping the Panthers to a 35-0 record and the school’s seventh state title. He also played on a state championship team as a freshman.
Martin, a first-team all-state selection, signed with Georgia and started as a junior and senior.
Dwayne Powell, who as a junior was on the 1962 state title team with Martin, led Perry to the 1963 state crown. That season, he averaged 29.9 points while hitting better than 50 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free-throw line.
At one time during the 1962-63 season, he made 50 consecutive free-throw attempts.
The two-time all-state selection finished his career with a school-record 2.043 points. Like Martin, he signed with Georgia and averaged better than 14 points a game as a starter his sophomore season.
Al Thornton, a 6-foot-8 post player, averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and 2.5 steals per game for the Panthers his senior season in 2003. He was the MVP in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association all-star game as well as the Georgia-Tennessee all-star game.
He signed with Florida State and was a two-time all-ACC selection.
After averaging 19.l points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a senior, he was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles in the NBA draft and went on to gain league all-rookie honors in 2007-08.
Lonnie Boone led Perry to a GHSA Region 3-AAA championship, scoring 30 points in the title game against West Laurens in 1981.
The Panthers advanced to the state quarterfinals before being ousted by Waynesboro 76-70. Boone averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds a game that season while shooting 66 percent from the field as Perry finished 24-4.
He signed a basketball scholarship with Tennessee Tech and was a four-year starter for the Eagles.
Stan Lynn took Perry to the Class AAA title game in 1985, averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds for the team that finished 24-4 and as runner-up after losing to Lee County 62-52 in the final.
In the four state playoff games, the 6-4, 218-pounder averaged 23.2 points. His top game in the tournament came in the first round when he had 30 points and 15 rebounds against Worth County. He scored 19 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in the state semifinal win against two-time defending champion Gainesville.
He played two years at Columbus College and his final two seasons at Georgia College and is prominently listed among the Bobcats’ all-time leaders in several categories.
You could easily pick two teams from Perry and not go wrong.
Other players considered: Allen Martin, Dick Edwards, Leroy Boswell, Walter Gray, Albert Skellie, Lawton Daniels and Walter Skellie.
You can add to the list Deryle Whipple, Clinton Cooper, Billy Bledsoe, Edwin Thompson, Billy Gray, Ed Chapman, Mack Peyton. Ed Beckham, Sam Nunn (yes, the longtime senator), Virgil Peavy and Boot Hoot.
Others drawing mention: Bennett Mauldin, Jimmy Beatty, George Nunn. Dennis Fike, Garold Spena, Porter Staples, Ronnie Griffin as well as Bert Bozeman, Jimmy Dorsett, Joe Martin, Terry Todd, Charles Ayer, Ed Pierce, Marion Cloud, Carlton Clarington, Jimmy Thomas and Rico Durham.
Billy Powell, an all-state performer and captain of the 1953 Perry state championship team, wrote a book entitled “Pride of the Panthers,” which chronicled the Staples years plus a few more, and was one of the many former players considered for the top five. He voiced his opposition to this article saying no player should be ranked above the rest.
If his thinking is correct, which I dispute, we wouldn’t have any Halls of Fame, MVPs or all-state teams.
Contact Bobby Pope at bpope428@gmail.com.
This story was originally published January 19, 2015 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Talent pool deep to pick Perry’s best in basketball ."