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RAMS NEWS: MIKE PEGUES ANSWERS EMERGENCY CALL
by Piet Van Hasselt
23 April 2003

1. MIKE PEGUES ANSWERS EMERGENCY CALL
by Piet Van Hasselt
The Scenic Circle Rams emergency distress signal has been answered yesterday with the signing of American Mike Pegues. Pegues, 25, is a 1.95m, 113 kg forward that has been compared to former NBA great Adrian Dantley because of his toughness and ability to score inside. Pegues will fill the restricted player spot until the arrival of John “Pope” Whorton who is currently playing in Germany. Pegues’ scoring prowess will also be needed with Tim Edmonds injury (see below) and Clifton Bush out of action for a month after suffering a knee injury in pre-season action. Bush will have an operation to tidy up the cartilage in his knee next week.

Coach John Watson has been working feverishly over the Easter Weekend to try to secure the services of a replacement and was very happy to sign up Pegues. He likes Pegues’ inside scoring and should be able to “burn guys in the paint,” said Watson. He will arrive in Christchurch on Thursday morning, just in time for the Rams away double-header in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday. Pegues will train with the team on Thursday where he will be quickly indoctrinated into the Rams triangle offensive and defensive schemes.

Pegues comes with great credentials having been coached at DeMatha Catholic High School by the winningest coach in high school basketball history, Morgan Wooten. Coach Wooten retired last season with an amazing 1,274-192 (86.8% win percentage) record spanning 1954 to 2002. Wooten has produced a number of NBA players including former Detroit Pistons star Adrian Dantley and current San Antonio Spurs and Duke forward Danny Ferry. In fact, coaching great John Wooden, UCLA, has been quoted as saying that Wooten “is the finest coach, at any level, I have ever seen,” said Wooden.

After high school, Pegues attended the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens from 1996 to 2000. Pegues was named to the all-conference (America East) first team in his last three years and attended the NCAA tournament in 1998 and 1999. In the 1998-99 season he averaged 21.8 points and 7.2 rebounds and was the conference player of the year. He holds the school record of 2030 career points at a 16.5 average. Pegues was coached by another great, Mike Brey, who was a former Duke assistant, and has since moved onto Notre Dame University. Pegues was an accurate shooter at Delaware slotting 49.7% from the field and 76.0% from the free throw line in his career. Pegues was also named to the CoSIDA District II Academic Team with a GPA of 3.29 in his senior year, majoring in communications.

Following his career at Delaware, played in the Los Angeles Pro-Am Summer League in 2000 and was drafted by two NBA minor leagues: Washington Congressionals of the USBL, and the Connecticut Pride of the CBA. He also spent time with Italian club side Titano San Marino in 2000-01 and a series of invitation tournaments in 2002.

Pegues comes from great basketball stock, with his mother playing basketball at the University of the District of Columbia and father played at Pitt-Johnstown.


2. KIWIHOOPS LIVE! FREE FANTASY LEAGUE
Plus: Exclusive profile on Rams Captain Dave Langrell & 2003 MVP Candidates

http://www.kiwihoops.co.nz

As mentioned in the last Rams News, make sure you check out Kiwihoops - the number one information and interactive basketball website in NZ. The site went live on Saturday and includes a FREE Fantasy league based on the NBL. It’s easy to sign-up and there is a “basketball celebrities” division including Canterbury’s own ace CTV commentary duo of Bob Manthei and Terry Brunel, Coach John Watson and former NZ Junior Luke Ruscoe, now playing at Brown University in the USA. Be quick as the season starts on Wednesday night (if you’re late – don’t worry as your lowest weekly score is thrown out).

See you at Kiwihoops. The Forum is also waiting for your comments.

3. E-BUNNY BREAKS TOE
The Canterbury Rams unlucky run with injuries continued this week when lively guard Tim Edmonds joined the casualty list sustaining a broken toe over the Easter Tournament. The extent of the injury is unknown at this stage, but the “energizer bunny” will be out of action for at least the Auckland double-header this weekend. Tim was set to have a break-out year, stepping into a starting role, with Terrence Lewis shifting to Saints. His suffocating defensive skills and knifing athletic drives will be missed in the interim.

4. PERKINS BACK IN RED & BLACK
After a twelve year break, the ageless wonder Kenny Perkins is back in Canterbury colours for the 2003 season. Perkins will help bolster the forward-line with big American John “Pope” Whorton still playing in Germany at the moment. Last season, he proved he can still match it with the young men of the NBL, averaging 11.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and played for nearly 34 of the possible 40 minutes per game with the Otago Nuggets. Perkins first arrived in Canterbury in 1988 and played with the team for four straight seasons, claiming back-to-back NBL titles in 1989 and 1990. Perkins returned to the NBL in 1994 with the Nelson Giants, helping lead them to the title. After three more seasons in Nelson, Perkins has spent seasons in Taranaki, North Harbour, Wellington and Otago to round out wearing six different varieties of NBL singlets – surely the record!

In a quick calculation of Perkins career record, you can tell that he is one of the premier players in the history of the NBL (regular-season games only):
3 x NBL championships
234 games
7104 minutes (30.4 per game)
3819 points (16.1 per game)
59.2% field goal percentage
38.4% three point percentage
69.9% free throw percentage
2406 rebounds (10.1 per game)
827 assists (3.5 per game)
552 blocks (1.1 per game)

Coach Watson has already noted Perkins’ extreme basketball sense and knowledge after only a few trainings. Perkins size allows him to cover the power forward and centre spots, which will be vital in the early stages of the season with Whorton away. Kenny’s son Kendrick is currently one of the top high school prospects in the USA and could potentially enter the NBA draft this season and be one of the top picks. He had a great showing at the McDonalds All-American game that some Rams Fans may have seen on Sky TV a few weeks ago.

5. AWAY DOUBLE-HEADER IN AUCKLAND
Saturday 26 April – Rams @ Auckland Stars, Unitec (3:30pm)
Sunday 27 April – Rams @ Harbour Heat, North Shore Events Centre (3:15pm)
Canterbury must play a crucial double-header first up this weekend in Auckland. This trip has often been one of the most challenging for Canterbury, mustering just a 1 win – 7 loss record in the annual Auckland double-header over the last four seasons. This was especially the case in 2002, when the Rams lost both games and ultimately missed out on a higher placing and a home semi-final as a result. With the Rams squad decimated with injuries, the task will be that much more difficult. For more details on the teams and other games this week check out: http://www.kiwihoops.co.nz

6. CHECKERS WIN EASTER TOURNEY
The Rams-stacked Checkers side was in top form at the Christchurch Casino Easter Tournament that was held at Cowles Stadium over the weekend. Checkers had Rams captain Dave Langrell, Boyd Smart, Joel Hart and Tim Edmonds on their winning side. Langrell was on fire all weekend and had six three-pointers in the final on his way to 29 points in the final against Atami. Rams point guard “the silent assassin” Mark McLaughlin was the stand-out for Atami coolly slotting eight long-bombs of his own in his 25 point tally.

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