He's back ladies and gentleman.
After a one year sabbatical from the school at which he was always projected to inherit the leadership reins, Class of 2020 guard David Perez has returned to Riviera Prep.
The heavily anticipated senior year comes after Perez spent one year at the prestigious NSU University School in Davie, where the high-octane guard was a role player on team rife with high level and even nationally lauded talent.
The Sharks featured a jumbo and wide ranging 6-foot-10 talent in Vernon Carey (now at Duke).
The left handed Carey, a three-level scorer and willing passer with a wing's skill-set, was the bulwark of U-School's 27-5 2018-19 campaign, one culminating with a second straight Class 5A state championship and a berth in the nationally televised GEICO nationals.
U School, which has undergone its second coaching change in as many years, will return another heavily courted recruit and legitimate NBA prospect in prized 6-foot-7 Class of 2020 forward Scottie Barnes.
"For me, the most important aspect of the University School experience is that I saw what it took to win a state championship," says Perez, who boasts a 3.9 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society.
"With the environment I was in, I saw how to win and win at the highest level. All of the knowledge and experience I gained from it will transfer to being a leader (at Riviera Prep) this year.
For Perez, returning as the focal point role will enable him to capitalize on his bedrock assets as a player.
He's a high-IQ scorer, a deft and ambidextrous and headed passer, and he rebounds the ball exceptionally well for a guard.
Given his bulk, his build, his evolving bounce, Perez has developed his niche as a high-scoring and drive-first attacker.
It is both the sheer grit and relentlessness at which he slices his way to the rim that makes him such such a magnetic presence in Miami's wide and rich recruiting waters.
Growing Up Fast
Skill set wise, Perez has always been a bit ahead of his time. Before he even reached high school, he was able to instigate turnovers and convert them into transition leak-outs.
He was levitating above the rim and finishing and snaring rebounds over the trees on the frontline at that same age, exemplifying boundless energy.
As a sophomore at Riviera, Perez assumed the role of both go-to scorer while simultaneously quarterbacking the team.
Not every kid has the poise and the mental moxie to rapidly adjust to the mentality of a gritty, battle-tested senior.
Some have to wait in the wings, enduring bench splinters while learning the intricacies of the system.
Perez transitioned seemingly overnight.
From the very beginning at Riviera, Perez was cognizant of the onus was on him to not only get to the rim but orchestrate offense and set up scoring opportunities for the four other guys flanking him. He was a deadly scorer with his forays to the rim. Initiating the offense and setting the table for others, however, was just as critical in his make-up.
With his workload being the most transferable factor to the product he put on the floor, Perez established himself as one of the top-tier scorers in Miami, averaging 20.2 PPG through the team's first string of games heading into Christmas.
Perez averaged 23 points and nine boards during the home stretch of that sophomore campaign.
A black belt in karate and state tournament qualifier in swimming, it is Perez' discipline, patience, body control, and hang time which differentiates himself from other point guards of his type. While similar local area talent at his position are known to over dribble and make an errant pass too often, Perez and his calming influence with the ball in his hands enables him to inherit some ownership of this Riviera Prep team.
The school was in its second year when Perez arrived as an elementary school student. His emergence as an athletic guard with defensive tactics and innate driving ability ran parallel to the emergence of the varsity basketball program.
As a senior, and a battle tested senior at that, Perez knows what is at stake and what is expected from him.
"At U-School, we went from being individuals and playing as a group of individuals at first to really developing the whole team. There was a stretch at the end of the regular season and heading into the playoffs where we were really starting to gel as a team. We played team basketball, had each other's backs, and basically embodied what a team is all about. There was no selfishness or individual play at that point, everyone was playing for each other as one."
Perez continued, "Personally, at Riviera Prep this year, that's what I want to establish with this team from the very beginning. I want us to be a team from the start and avoid playing like individuals. U School taught me how to win at the highest level but also showed me that a true team always beats a group of individuals. That's what we want at Riviera Prep. We want guys feeding off each other and wanting to play for each other from the beginning.
Senior Standout
Entering his senior season, Perez's blend of statistics (17 PPG, 8 APG, and 6RPG this summer) academics (A in Psychology, A in Sports Medicine, A in Anatomy) and fearless forays to the rim through contact have elicited sudden interest from Stony Brook, Columbia, Dartmouth, and a handful of high academic Division-III programs, including Brandeis.
Plying his trade for Miami Triple Threat on the AAU scene, Perez was able to garner credibility throughout a northern road swing that included stops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Against a reputable Albany City Rocks program, Perez put forth an accurate account of his hard-slashing, ball hawking capabilities. He turned in a team best 18 points (12 during a second half power surge that allowed Triple Threat to take a commanding lead they never squandered) en route to a thorough 70-58 throttling.
"Coach Colin (Campbell) kind of pulled me aside before the game and told me the best thing I could do was play my game and be myself out there," Perez recalls.
"Coach Colin told me, if you play your game, these college coaches in attendance are going to see what everyone else sees."
After playing rather conservatively and looking to get his teammates involved in the first half, Perez bagged a 3-pointer and scored on a traditional 3-point play as the half approached.
During the second half, the momentum carried over. Buoyed by a fireball pass to 6-foot-10 forward Ange Dibwe for a thunderous dunk, Perez quickly took game changing matters into his own hands.
Triple Threat pressed all across the court, instigating a torrent of turnovers that created fast break points while subsequently heightening the momentum.
Getting out on the break and driving defenders to the rim and finishing, Perez had 12 second half points while creating matchup issues.
"After Ange had that first dunk, we all erupted," Perez said. "We knew we had it. We knew it was on."