While none of the local teams earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament, several former Colorado prep basketball players are playing getting a chance to shine during March Madness.
Here’s a look at how they fared during the second weekend of the tournament:
Canyon Barry, Florida senior guard
High school: Cheyenne Mountain ’12
Barry scored seven points in 16 minutes against Wisconsin in the sweet 16 round on Friday. But his biggest contribution was a blocked shot on Khalil Iverson with 34 seconds remaining in overtime that set up a Chris Chiozza layup that tied the game at 81-apiece. Florida advanced to the Elite 8, but fell to the upstart South Carolina squad. Barry had 4 points in 20 minutes.
In four games, he averaged 6.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.5 blocks.
Josh Perkins, Gonzaga sophomore guard
High School: Regis Jesuit (Graduated from Huntington Prep ’14)
Against West Virginia, the Bulldogs’ starting point guard tallied three points, four rebounds and an assist. But with the Zags down one with 1:04 to go in the game, Perkins blocked Nathan Adrian, setting up a 3-pointer by Jordan Mathews that sealed the win and a spot in the Elite Eight. Perkins had a bigger stat line in the blowout of Xavier, with 11 points, six rebounds and an assist. He also had his most memorable of the tournament. Late in the second half, he stole a lazy pass and waltzed in for an easy lay-up. However, . Luckily for both of them, catastrophe was averted.
Perkins averaged 6.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in the Bulldogs’ four tournament victories.
Justine Hall, Oregon junior guard
High School: Regis Jesuit ’14
Hall came off the bench for four minutes against Maryland in the Sweet 16 round, contributing an assist. In a blowout loss to Connecticut, she played 11 minutes, tallying five points and a block. In Oregon’s four tournament games, she averaged 2.3 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.5 minutes of action.
