Kendrick Perkins, the outstanding 6-10, 265-pound center from Beaumont Ozen High School in Beaumont, Texas, committed to Memphis because of the fit. "He felt very comfortable with the coaches there and the system they run there," said his high school coach, Andre Boutte. "So he made his decision last night and called the coaches."

Perkins chose Memphis after considering North Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, and Miami. He called some of the coaches last night. "Kendrick is going to be a great player on the college level," Boutte said. "He is doing the extra things now on the court that make him a special player."

Perkins previously mentioned Michigan, Georgia Tech, Kansas, and Kentucky in our last interview. "He is a very special player and kid," Boutte said. "He is going to be a great player for Memphis because he does so many things well on the court."

Kendrick said he has a 2.7 GPA and will take the SAT in the fall. He averaged 24 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks last year for the 32-3 state runner-up team.

Perkins averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.9 blocks in the eight games at ABCD hitting 57 percent of his shots. In the senior all-star game he had seven points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

"Kendrick has improved greatly over the past year," Boutte said. "Each part of his game has improved. And I am sure he will work hard enough to improve it even more this season."