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Then-sophomore Kennedi Perkins took the podium after Bolingbrook High School’s (Illinois) 68-57 loss to Lake Park High School in the 2020 state tournament semifinals. “We will be back next year. I will make sure of that,” Bolingbrook head coach Chris Smith recalled Perkins saying. 

The 2021 tournament was canceled because of the pandemic. In 2022, Bolingbrook was back, but finished in third place once again. 

“(Perkins) absolutely led us back to that point,” Smith said. 

Perkins, now at Syracuse, led Bolingbrook in scoring all three years she played for the Buccaneers, transferring from Hinsdale South High School (Illinois). She averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists and was named to the All-State First Team for three consecutive years. Perkins was also an AP Illinois Girls Basketball All-State honorable mention in 2022. Now, as Syracuse struggles with injuries, Perkins has emerged as a reliable backup floor general. She’s played at least 13 minutes in four of the last five games after averaging just 4.81 minutes per game beforehand. 

Nick Wunschl, Perkins’ personal trainer, works at Bolingbrook. He remembered Perkins’ freshman year when Hinsdale South, the 15-seed, played against the top seed in the tournament. He said Hinsdale South’s skill level “isn’t compared” to Bolingbrook.

Wunschl estimated Perkins scored around 20 points, and that’s when he noticed how good she could be at the next level. “That was the one game I was like ‘man, I really hope she comes to Bolingbrook,’” Wunschl said.

After her freshman year, Perkins transferred to Bolingbrook. That summer, Perkins played at a camp with her new school. Smith said her aggressiveness and confidence in her skill set made her stand out. The Buccaneers already had a squad that could compete for state championships, but Perkins impressed so much that she’d start on varsity, Smith said. 

“I perfected my scoring and how I can score and what to do to score,” Perkins said of her time at Bolingbrook. “So (Bolingbrook) helped me learn how to play with good players and how to balance out the talent levels I was playing with.”

In the quarterfinal game prior to the 2020 semifinal defeat, Perkins and the Buccaneers faced powerhouse Whitney Young. She matched up against then-seniors Timia Ware and Kay Kay Green, who both now play Division-I at UCF and Texas A&M, respectively. Ware and Green combined for 48 of Whitney Young’s 68 points, but Perkins totaled 17 points and five steals, draining three clutch free throws to fuel a near double-digit comeback.

Bolingbrook finished 2020 with a 26-8 record, before going 10-3 in a 2021 season shortened by COVID-19. She led the team in scoring in both seasons. Like Smith, Perkins recalls taking the podium during her sophomore year, saying that Smith believed in her while she believed in herself.  

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Prior to her senior year, Perkins suffered a concussion in the summer and entered the season with an ankle sprain. After the fifth game of the season, she had a fractured ankle, Smith said, requiring her to sit out for a month and a half. But Perkins returned for the playoffs, helping the team to a third place finish while leading the team in scoring. She finished the season as an All-State first team selection. 

“I think it was just a matter of time before Kennedi got in the condition she needed to be and to be 100% healthy,” Smith said. “We always knew once Kennedi was 100% healthy and able to play the way she’s capable of playing, it was a no brainer.”

In the sectional championship last February, Perkins notched 18 points to fend off a Homewood-Flossmoor fourth quarter comeback. She said she “sealed the victory” in what would be her last home game for the Buccaneers. Bolingbrook eventually finished third for the second year running.

Perkins evolved into an elite scorer throughout high school, but Wunschl said it didn’t start out that way. When the two first started working together, Perkins wasn’t a consistent shooter. But she put in work to improve. On days where Wunschl was training multiple players, Perkins would do anything to take extra shots. 

“It took a lot of time,” Wunschl said of Perkins’ jumper. “If I was in the gym, she needed to be there.”

Smith said playing at Bolingbrook “really developed” her shot from beyond the arc, but said that her “bag” was always full. 

Perkins’ creativity and strength allowed her to drive to the basket, absorb contact and still get her shot off. Despite her smaller size, Wunschl said Perkins was willing to rebound and do the “dirty work.” The first time Wunschl ever saw Perkins play, she poured in 59 points.

That grit is what Felisha Legette-Jack saw when Syracuse hosted Louisville on Jan. 29. Five minutes into the game, Dyaisha Fair, Alaina Rice and Teisha Hyman all got hurt. Legette-Jack had no choice but to turn to Perkins. Fair and Rice returned, but Hyman didn’t. Perkins played a season-high 24 minutes, contributing seven points. 

“I thought (Perkins) was the only guard that came in and really owned her power,” Legette-Jack said. “I think she was really the only guard that showed she can be responsive to the situation.”

Perkins didn’t even commit to Legette-Jack and Syracuse until May 1, 2022. She had received her first offers all the way back in seventh and eighth grade from Michigan State and Missouri. Further down the line, Perkins received offers from mid-major and Power Five schools, including Vanderbilt and Northwestern. 

Although the recruitment process started early for Perkins, she said “you don’t really know what that means.” It didn’t hit her until several programs offered her – and during her freshman year at Hinsdale South, she noticed many more people asking her about collegiate play.

“I want to play on the biggest stage that I can, which is at a D-I level at a Power Five school,” Perkins would reply.

But soon, her injuries and canceled games during her junior year affected her recruiting. Wunschl said a lot of the high-major programs started to fade away with the smaller injuries, which caused her to “not be herself all the time.”

At the AAU level, she played for the Baylor Youth Basketball Foundation alongside SU forward Asia Strong. But during her final summer, games were canceled. 

Despite the setbacks, she knew she deserved to be at a top school. 

“She worked too hard to go to a smaller school,” Wunschl said. “So, her thing was ‘I wanted to go to a high major.’”

Legette-Jack had been hired as Syracuse’s new coach just over a month earlier and was formulating her new roster, as several players departed from the program. She said she never actually recruited Perkins. Perkins went on a visit alongside Strong, who had entered the transfer portal after playing at Wichita State. 

Perkins tried out for the team that same day, and Legette-Jack gave her an offer. She had taken other official visits, and had one set up once she returned home, but it wasn’t necessary. 

“My tryout went well so there (was) no need to go to any other school,” Perkins said. 

Perkins has now fulfilled her goal of playing for a Power Five program, averaging 8.2 minutes and 2.4 points per game in her freshman season. She’s seen increased playing time as of late, most recently playing 22 minutes at then-No. 10 Notre Dame last Sunday. Now, she noted wanting to score more when she’s on. 

Against Louisville, when Legette-Jack described her injured players as going down like “bowling pins,” Perkins was ready, mentally telling herself “it’s my time.”

“I’m coming out there and giving the energy that we need,” Perkins said. “When I make hustle plays, or give a teammate an assist that I bring her energy up, then we all feel good about each other.”

Published on February 15, 2023 at 10:21 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini