Flints Lucas-Perry heads to Ivy League
When asked how she would catch two sons playing college basketball in two states, Patrick Lucas-Perry's mother, Patricia, joked that how she'd pay his Ivy League tuition was the better question.
The Flint Powers' senior point guard picked University of Pennsylvania over Oakland University Wednesday afternoon during a press conference held at his school, ending the recruitment of the best unsigned player in Michigan's 2011 high school class.
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"I've been accepted to the Warren School of Business, and look forward to playing under [University of Pennsylvania head coach] Jerome Allen," Lucas-Perry said.
Lucas-Perry's father, LaVal, said the decision was tough for his son, and that the call to Oakland head coach Greg Kampe was like "breaking up with a girlfriend."
"I had to tell Coach Kampe, and he's always been there for me…how highly I think of am, and what he's done for me; I just had to tell him my decision," Lucas-Perry said. "It was very hard, but ultimately I think I made the right decision."
"Bouncing back and forth on the pros and cons of both schools was very tough. Oakland's on the rise; they're a great program, but ultimately I just felt that Penn was the complete package."
When asked how his brother, Laval Lucas-Perry [who plays at Oakland], reacted to the decision, the future Quaker said he hadn't told him yet, which was met by a reaction of laughter from the crowd.
"I've always wanted to play with him it's been my dream," he said. "It's something I'll have to get up obviously, but it's my own course in life and my decision.
Patrick reiterated that the academics of an Ivy League school like Penn played a big part in the decision.
"I can't go to a school that's strictly athletics, so I really felt at Penn, it tied in the best of both worlds. Altogether I was home; it was the place for me to go, and where I needed to be."
Lucas-Perry becomes one of a handful of recruits, although the only point guard, as part of the Quakers' incoming freshman class.