Perry signs with Northwestern St.

EL DORADO - El Dorado guard Czar Perry signed a junior college letter-of-intent with Itawamba Community College with the intent of moving on to a Division I program. Northwestern State (La.) gave Perry an opportunity to skip a step.

Perry signed a letter-of-intent to play basketball with the Southland Conference Demons on Saturday.

"They gave me a scholarship and they're Division I so, that's what I've been wanting, anyway, a Division I scholarship. So, I just took it," said Perry, who had interest from several Division I programs but had yet to receive an offer until Northwestern.

"They were interested in me, though. They've been talking to me since 10th grade and they were always telling me they were going to get me."

Perry averaged 21.4 points per game and 7 assists for the Wildcats, who went 28-5 and advanced to the 6A state championship game. The 6-1 guard hit 57-of-180 from 3-point range.

"We add more speed and athleticism to our recruiting class with a very explosive and dynamic playmaker in Czar Perry. We have been following him for several years and he has attended our basketball camps the last two summers, so he is very familiar with our players and staff and our program's style of play," said Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy.

"He is an outstanding athlete with equal ability to make the pass for an alley oop dunk or be on the receiving end of a lob. Czar is an extremely accomplished player and is capable of stuffing the stat sheet for our team in several offensive and defensive categories."

The Demons went 13-16 last season.

Perry said he had drawn interest from Kansas State, Arkansas and Little Rock. No one showed more interest than Northwestern State, however.

"They had just came with the offer. When they called and offered me they were like, 'We're sending the papers.' The papers came in two days later and they were waiting on me to sign it. So, I knew they were for real about it," said Perry, who believes he's headed to the right place.

"I feel better because they believe in me and they need somebody to lead a team and get them back on track again and get them into the NCAA Tournament."

Said McConathy, "He fits our style of play on both ends of the floor and we know he can positively impact our team's success from the onset."

After backing out on his original commitment, Perry said he had to contact the coaches at Itawamba and tell them the bad news.

"I called them. They were trying to get me to change my mind but I didn't really want to," said Perry, who added with a smile, "I'm happy."