By LARRY VAUGHT
larry@amnews.com

Former University of Kentucky basketball player Bobby Perry has always enjoyed spending time with youngsters, especially when he has a chance to interact one-on-one with them.

Former Kentucky player Bobby Perry has always loved working with kids. Now he’ll get a chance to coach them, taking over the West Jessamine Middle School boys basketball program. (Clay Jackson photo)

That’s one reason he knew as soon as he saw that West Jessamine had an opening for a middle school boys basketball coach it was a job he wanted – and got.

“I saw the coaching job was open and thought, ‘What great fun that would be and what a great opportunity it would be to give back and coach on that level,’” said Perry, a North Carolina native who played at UK from 2003-07 under Tubby Smith.

“It’s not like I have plans to go on to bigger and better coaching jobs. I just want to try and do the best job I can at West Jessamine. I want to coach and teach the game the way it is supposed to be taught and make players better.

“I think it will be a good fit for me. I am super excited to get going and start coaching. And the camp is not just for West Jessamine kids. I would love to have kids from Danville, Lexington or anywhere in central Kentucky.”

He’s so excited that he has already put together a skills camp for July 13-16 at West Jessamine. There will be a session from 9-11 a.m. daily for players in grades 5-6 and a session from 1-4 p.m. for players in grades 7-8.

Cost is $150 and more information is available by e-mailing Perry at bobbyperryskillscamp@gmail.com.

Perry is going to have his former North Carolina AAU coach, Mike Zeillman, work at the skills camp.

“He is a great guy,” Perry, who averaged 8.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game his senior year at Kentucky, said. “He instructs all kinds of players in North Carolina. He’s not only worked with young players, but also with NBA players, college players and women’s players.”

Adapting to the team

Perry says he’s not sure what his coaching style will be like because he’s learned that he must adapt his style to his available talent.

“I am a firm believer in seeing what players you have to work with and then seeing what is the best style to win,” Perry said. “Being at middle school, you do not have the luxury to recruit players you want. You have what you have. I will see what talent we have and adjust from there.”

However, his philosophy likely will be different from most middle school coaches. He says his practices will involve 70 percent skill work and 30 percent team drills because he wants to emphasize developing individual skills.

“Improving a player’s skills is bigger than running offensive sets,” Perry said. “They will know so many offensive sets by the time they finish high school it won’t matter, but what skills they learn and develop will matter.

“There are not many middle school players out there who really put huge emphasis on skill work. That’s what my camp will be about and why it will be unlike any in the state of Kentucky for players that age. I want to teach kids how to use their non-dominant hand, teach them about better court vision and show them how to work out on their own in more effective ways.”

Perry had intended to play in the J.E. Butler Memorial at Danville Country Club this weekend before a conflict forced him to cancel.

“I play in quite a few tournaments, but I won’t be in town this weekend so I can play,” Perry, who lives in Lexington, said. “I wanted to come play and still hope to play in the tournament one year because I have heard great things about it.”

Perry is an avid golfer and recently shot a 2-under par 70 in a tournament in Winchester.

“Golf scores are kind of hard to predict, but that was definitely a good day for me,” Perry laughed and said. “Unfortunately, not all my golf days are quite that good.”

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