Spencer Perrin feels like he’s found both financial security for his family and the perfect place to play basketball now that he has signed a three-year guaranteed contract worth about $1 million to play in Australia with the Geraldton Buccaneers.
“I leave this Friday and can’t wait,” said Perrin, a Boyle County graduate and former player at Eastern Kentucky University. “It’s the most tropical part of Australia. It is its own island in the western part of Australia and the best possible place to go there to play basketball.
“It’s part of the best league in Australia. It’s level one competition and is a way better league than I¿played in either in Slovakia or Hungary.”
Perrin is fully committed to Australia basketball and plans to become an Australian citizen so he can play on the 2016 Olympic team.
“Then I would be playing against Team USA, Spain and all the international powers,” Perrin said. “I can’t basically come home except maybe for a week or so at a time during the next three years. I’ll just be back for a visit and then headed right back to Australia.
“But this is the best deal I¿have ever signed. They are paying for me and my family to fly over and we will even be on a private plane the last part of the trip. We will have a three-bedroom apartment on the beach that is great.”
Perrin, 24, said his versatility appealed to the Australian team.
“They like me because they said they have never had a player like me,” Perrin said. “My vertical (jump), I can play defense. About anything they need me to do,¿I can do. I will be the only American on the team.
“I can play anything from shooting guard to power forward. I can play all those positions now. I won’t be playing point guard this year, but I could in the future.”
Perrin’s signing made immediate news in Australia and a video about his signing ever appeared on yahoonews.com. In that video, Geraldton coach Ray Evans called Perrin a “great player” for the team.
“We want to play up tempo and he will help with that. He is a good defender, too,” Evans said.
Perrin spent time playing in various summer leagues in the United States and trying out for different teams. However, he’s decided now that playing overseas is what suits him best.
“I can make some teams here, but I¿like being overseas better,”¿Perrin said. “I can see myself being with this team for a good while now. I don’t want to be playing for any other team. This will be my team.
“There has been some talk about me putting my name in the NBA draft in a few years, but I don’t know about that. I like what I am doing and the money is good. I think I am really going to like being in Australia for a long time.”
Perrin also said a “little trouble” he got into in Richmond recently is behind him.
“I got caught driving on a suspended license I didn’t even know about and got taken to jail,” he said. “But it is all good now. Everything is fine. That’s all behind me and Friday I will be heading to Australia to start another new part of my basketball life.”
“I leave this Friday and can’t wait,” said Perrin, a Boyle County graduate and former player at Eastern Kentucky University. “It’s the most tropical part of Australia. It is its own island in the western part of Australia and the best possible place to go there to play basketball.
“It’s part of the best league in Australia. It’s level one competition and is a way better league than I¿played in either in Slovakia or Hungary.”
Perrin is fully committed to Australia basketball and plans to become an Australian citizen so he can play on the 2016 Olympic team.
“Then I would be playing against Team USA, Spain and all the international powers,” Perrin said. “I can’t basically come home except maybe for a week or so at a time during the next three years. I’ll just be back for a visit and then headed right back to Australia.
“But this is the best deal I¿have ever signed. They are paying for me and my family to fly over and we will even be on a private plane the last part of the trip. We will have a three-bedroom apartment on the beach that is great.”
Perrin, 24, said his versatility appealed to the Australian team.
“They like me because they said they have never had a player like me,” Perrin said. “My vertical (jump), I can play defense. About anything they need me to do,¿I can do. I will be the only American on the team.
“I can play anything from shooting guard to power forward. I can play all those positions now. I won’t be playing point guard this year, but I could in the future.”
Perrin’s signing made immediate news in Australia and a video about his signing ever appeared on yahoonews.com. In that video, Geraldton coach Ray Evans called Perrin a “great player” for the team.
“We want to play up tempo and he will help with that. He is a good defender, too,” Evans said.
Perrin spent time playing in various summer leagues in the United States and trying out for different teams. However, he’s decided now that playing overseas is what suits him best.
“I can make some teams here, but I¿like being overseas better,”¿Perrin said. “I can see myself being with this team for a good while now. I don’t want to be playing for any other team. This will be my team.
“There has been some talk about me putting my name in the NBA draft in a few years, but I don’t know about that. I like what I am doing and the money is good. I think I am really going to like being in Australia for a long time.”
Perrin also said a “little trouble” he got into in Richmond recently is behind him.
“I got caught driving on a suspended license I didn’t even know about and got taken to jail,” he said. “But it is all good now. Everything is fine. That’s all behind me and Friday I will be heading to Australia to start another new part of my basketball life.”
