Perkins arrives to Phoenix practice way before call time, but still not the earliest

Jason Perkins listens to coach Louie Alas during Phoenix’s first practice session on Monday. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/INQUIRER.net

Looking to make a good impression in his first day of work, Jason Perkins thought he was the first man at Upper Deck Sports Center when Phoenix began its team practices on Monday, coming to the venue an hour and a half early.

But to his surprise, his sharp-shooting teammates Jeff Chan and Matthew Wright were already there. Chan and Wright were both soaked in sweat as Perkins entered the court.

“I thought I came in early to practice, but Chan was already in a sweat by the time I came in here and Wright was already getting up shots. So, yeah I got to get my work ethic up. I didn’t realize it was like that here,” he said.

Perkins knows that it’s just the kind of effort the Fuel Masters will need from him as the team enters a new era with coach Louie Alas at the helm.

“We’re not the biggest team, but if I have to switch to three, I’m ready for it. We’ll show it to those teams that we have a lot of heart and we really work hard,” said the fourth overall pick of this year’s draft as he acknowledged on the size disparity the league’s best teams have against Phoenix.

Perkins is also well aware of the luxury he has being in a virtually same system, with Alas also enforcing a defensive pressure similar to that of Aldin Ayo’s in La Salle.

But with him going up on a higher level, the 25-year-old forward knows that he has to take his game to different level as he hopes to learn from veterans Doug Kramer and Willie Wilson.

“It’s not a shock to me seeing the press because coach Ayo has the most physically  demanding ones, so coming to another press, I’m already used to it,” he said. “I’m used with the press and moving as a big man and it’s something that I think I’m prepared for. But I’d really like to continue learning and talking to the older guys like Willie and Doug.”