Fred Powell was a basketball fanatic who died just before his favorite player became a high school star. But his granddaughter Mickey – that’s what everyone calls Mickayla – is doing everything she can for the Springfield Wildcats to honor his memory.
“I’ve really been putting in extra work as much as I can to make sure that he knows and everyone else knows that I’m not just doing it for everybody else, I’m doing it for myself, too,” she said.
Perdue is a 5-foot-6 scorer. She averaged 21.8 points a game as a freshman and 21.4 last year. She announced her arrival with 40 points in her first high school game. She has surpassed 30 points nine times and 40 twice. She attempts 5.3 3-pointers a game and makes 40.6 percent of them. In her career-high 45-point game last year, she was 7-for-10.
Division I basketball coaches have noticed. They watch her in high school and on the AAU summer circuit. She has more than enough offers to narrow her list to five schools: Toledo, Akron, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan and Ohio University. Her goal is to sign a letter of intent on the early-signing day next November so she can focus on her senior season.
Perdue’s immediate focus is on Saturday morning’s 10:30 tip against Newark at Lakota West in the annual Journey to the Tourney event. After seasons of 11 and nine victories and only two GWOC victories, Perdue has seized the leadership role as an upperclassman.
“When I took the job I pulled her to the side and I asked her, ‘What do you want out of these last two years,’” said first-year head coach Kawambee Gaines. “She didn’t say I want to average 50 points, she didn’t say I want to make all-American. She talked about the team being together more as a family.”
Perdue and her teammates have bonded off the court – bowling, movies, hanging out – so that when the take the court they will play well together. For two years, Perdue has gotten the attention, but she wants people to start talking about the team more than her.
“I hear this is the Mickey Cats,” she said. “It’s not just Mickey because I can’t win the game with just me. If I go out there by myself, I’m not going to get anything done. But if I have my four other teammates out there, a lot’s going to be getting done.”
Gaines, also an assistant football coach at Springfield, has been coaching basketball in Springfield for 20 years and has watched Perdue from a distance. Now he sees her every day and appreciates her dedication to the team.
“I feel bad for her for people to be saying Mickey’s Cats,” he said. “That’s a lot of hating. There’s a lot of people that want to celebrate how good she is, but there’s a lot of people that have little undercuts. And that’s not fair to her because she’s not that type of person.”
Building the program has proven difficult in part because several talented players have chosen to play elsewhere in the past. Perdue never gave that a thought. She said she loves Springfield and “once you’re a Wildcat you’re always a Wildcat, so why not stay here.”
Back to the earlier conversation with Gaines about Perdue wanting to create a family atmosphere: “That right then and there just let me know that she’s more than a basketball player,” he said. “She has a heart, she cares for other people, she cares about Springfield. She could’ve left. I hope the community and the kids understand that.”
Perdue has won at the AAU level. Her West Virginia Thunder team won a national tournament this past summer. Winning and being competitive in the GWOC are her ultimate pre-college goals.
“It would mean a lot if we did start winning a lot more games,” she said. “It just depends on how much work everybody’s really putting in.”
Her grandfather-inspired daily work in the gym is something she hopes makes her a role model and leaves a legacy for younger players to aspire to. When she’s not practicing or playing for her high school or AAU teams, she is in the gym every day. Well, almost every day. She does take a Sunday off now and then. She has two workout coaches. Her dad, Jason Perdue, will coach and rebound for her for two hours. And she has a trainer who puts her through rigorous 60- to 75-minute workouts.
“She doesn’t need anybody to get her in the gym,” Gaines said. “She hasn’t short-changed herself because she works hard to get the best out of herself.”
For Perdue, this season and next are about getting the best out the Wildcats.
“We’ve come together as a team and not just as individual groups,” she said. “There was that group, this group. It’s everybody now and we include everybody in everything.”
Girls basketball players to watch
Grace Forrest (5-7, Jr.) Mechanicsburg: Averaged 13.4 points last year and scored in double figures in the final nine games at a 14.3 clip.
Terah Harness (5-9, Jr.) Tecumseh: Was a solid bench contributor last year for a senior-dominated team and shot 55.7%.
Cati LeVan (5-5, Jr.) Triad: First-team all-conference player who averaged 13.9 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Frani LeVan (5-5, Jr.) Triad: Paired again with her twin and coming of season averages of 13.9 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Mae Mastin (5-4, Soph.) Tecumseh: Is ready to be a team leader after averaging 10.4 points and shooting 38.6 percent on over 100 3-point attempts.
Andi Meeks (5-8, Sr.) Shawnee: An all-around leader for the Braves who averaged 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 50 percent.
Mallory Mullen (6-1, Soph.) Catholic Central: Was an inside presence for the Irish as a freshman, averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Katelyn Nash (5-8, Sr.) Graham: Averaged 16 points and scored 20 or more 16 times with a high of 28.
Mickayla Perdue (5-6, Jr.) Springfield: Made the six-member all-GWOC team, is a Division I prospect and has averaged over 20 points twice.
Abbigail Peterson (5-8, Jr.) Catholic Central: Averaged 15 points and 5.3 assists to lead the Irish to a 17-7 season and first-round tournament win.
Angie Smith (5-7, Soph.) Yellow Springs: Co-player of the year in the Metro Buckeye averaged 24.5 points, 5.3 steals and 9.7 rebounds.
Sylvie Sonneman (5-10, Sr.) Greeneview: Averaged 15.2 points and 4.5 rebounds for a team that will be trying a repeat as OHC South champion.
Reagan Ware (5-6, Sr.) Greenon: A four-year starter coming of 12.3 scoring average for a team that expects to contend again in the OHC South.
Selena Weaver (6-0, Jr.) West Liberty-Salem: Will help the Tigers be a force again in the OHC North coming of averages of 9.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 60.6% shooting.
Others: Zoe Ballard (5-7, Soph.) Shawnee, Serenity Castle (5-7, Soph.) Catholic Central, Makenzie Chinn (5-2, Fr.) Tecumseh, Ellie Coe (5-4, Jr.) Cedarville, Ayanna Doolittle (5-11, Sr.) Catholic Central, Claire Henry (5-9, Fr.) Greenon, Emily Hollar (5-7, Soph.) West Liberty-Salem, Gabby Russell (5-10, Fr.) Tecumseh, Kasey Schipfer (5-8, Sr.) Mechanicsburg, Rachel Strickle (5-7, Soph.) Greeneview.
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