Lenny M on Young Lad Perkins

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Lenny was last seen cruising down Commonwealth Ave. with Ted Sarandis,
hanging a left out to Ithaca the City of Evil....

 MetroWest Daily News 			
			
Megliola: Perkins has high hopes with Celtics 

By Lenny Megliola 
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

WALTHAM -- He was born in 1984. Late '84. In 1985 he was in diapers. Which I guess means Kendrick Perkins is still a child in some people's eyes. A teenager anyhow. He's a long way from his first legal beer. He's lucky he's got a driver's license. 
And he wants to go up against Shaq? 
Well, not really. That is, not yet anyway. 
First of all, Kendrick Perkins doesn't look 18, and I'm not saying that because he's got a man's body, a big man's body at 6-foot-10, 285 pounds, down from his 300 playing weight at Clifton J. Ozen High in Beaumont, Texas. 
Nope, I'm saying facially he doesn't look 18, or 19, or 23. He could pass for 30. If he really wants an adult beverage it's hard to imagine any barkeep carding him. 
But this is for certain. He is a child in this business. Perkins has chosen to make the jump from the schoolboys to the NBA. The Celtics liked him enough to take him as their second first-round pick in a draft-night deal with Memphis, behind guard Marcus Banks. But whereas Banks is being counted on to run the team, rookie or no rookie, Perkins' playing time will be measured in seconds. He gets it though. 
"You can't predict what's going to happen," said Perkins after a preseason practice yesterday without the job-secure veterans present. "This is a lot different than high school. A big difference. Major." 
Biggest change: "The pace of the NBA game," said Perkins. "You've got to be ready for it." 
If minutes are going to be hard to come by, after all, he's got Vin Baker, Tony Battie, Mark Blount and maybe rookie Brandon Hunter ahead of him, Perkins isn't content to be a spectator all season long. 
"I just want to come in and contribute, not do too much. Hey, I've got to go do my job. I've just got to play basketball. Get the job done." 
The Celtics are intrigued by Perkins, by his physique, the learning curve positives and all that. They imagine what he might bring to the table at the ripe ol' age of 21. If everything goes right. If they haven't made a mistake selecting the ex-USA Today second-team All-American. 
Perkins played in the summer league at UMass-Boston, then returned to Texas to work with former NBA player and coach John Lucas in Houston. "He taught me a lot," said Perkins. "He knows how to prepare people for what's going to happen (in the NBA)." 
Perkins averaged 27.5 points, 16.4 rebounds and 7.8 blocks in his senior year. University of Memphis coach John Calipari fell in love with the kid. 
"If I wasn't here, I'd be in Memphis," said Perkins. "I just liked Calipari. He's a great coach." 
Calipari, according to Perkins, advised him against becoming an NBA early-entry candidate. "At first he thought I wasn't ready," said Perkins. "I committed to Memphis, I signed with them." 
But he also worked out for a number of NBA teams, and when the Celtics looked at him at HealthPoint, they were convinced Perkins was worth the draft pick. He told Calipari he'd had a change of heart. "I just felt I was ready for the NBA," said Perkins. 
He's a long way from Beaumont, but he isn't lonely. He may be a teenager but he's a man on his own and with a nice paying job. His mother died when he was 5. Perkins was raised by his grandparents. He calls them almost every day. 
Each day he gets more acclimated to his new town. Except for Boston drivers. "They're crazy," said Perkins. "They have no problem blowing the horn." 
Perkins worked out for the three Texas teams -- Spurs, Rockets, Mavericks -- but is fine with being a Celtic. "You can't pick where you want to go. Like I said, it's a job." 
And Kendrick Perkins thinks he's man enough for it. 
(Lenny Megliola is a Daily News sports columnist.)