Photo by File Photo

Arkansas' basketball program has a new consensus five-star commit for 2018.

It's not a new commit. It's just that sparkling spring AAU and All-Star camp performances have bounced Thomasville, Ga., big man and Razorback pledge Reggie Perry (6-10, 225) to No. 17 in ESPN's rankings of the Top 100 players in the country.

That ascension in the rankings makes Perry, who committed to Arkansas last August, a consensus five-star prospect among the four major ranking services (Scout, Rivals, 24/7 and ESPN).

"I feel like I have shown people what I can do, but I still feel like I have to continue to get better," Perry said. "I have been training really, really hard the last seven months. I have weight training where I go every Monday and Wednesday mornings, and every day I am working out with my basketball trainer, Adrian Crawford.

"I am working on my outside game, my ball handling and my midpost game so I can score from anywhere or just get somebody else a bucket."

Perry is averaging 17 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 assists per game for the Arkansas Hawks on the Adidas Gauntlet series.

He is ranked No. 14 in the country by Scout, No. 15 by 24/7 and No. 23 by Rivals. Hawks coach Bill Ingram notes those spots are all well-earned.

"I think he has always been a consensus five-star prospect in my eyes, but I am very happy for him that he has now been moved up the list," Ingram said. "He has put in the time and effort for this to happen, and we are all very happy for him.

"I respect the guys that do the rankings and know they have a method to how they do things, but I have always said there is no way there were eight to 10 players in the class better than him, but obviously I get to see him all the time."

Perry, who averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks during his high school season, is one of five Arkansas Hawks teammates who have committed to the Razorbacks.

He also was named MVP of the Pangos All-American Top 30 Cream of the Crop game and shined on the U.S. Select Team at Adidas Euro Camp in Italy while scoring 15 points and leading the team in rebounding at 8.5 per game.

"The competition was really good [in Italy], but I had good teammates that helped each other when it came to the games," Perry said. "I felt like I played pretty good. We played against one team that had four guys that have their names in the draft this year so there was no doubt the competition was really good."

Arkansas' 2018 class is ranked No. 1 nationally by 24/7 and No. 3 by Scout.

Perry joins Little Rock Parkview forward Ethan Henderson (6-9, 190) -- ranked No. 88 by ESPN -- and fellow four-star prospects Jonesboro guard Desi Sills (6-1, 180) and Fort Smith Northside shooting guard Isaiah Joe (6-4, 180) as 2018 Razorback pledges.

Little Rock Christian point guard Justice Hill (5-11, 160) is a 2019 commit, but is taking classes this summer, which could allow him to arrive in Fayetteville either in the fall of 2018 or the spring of 2019.

That group will play in events in Chicago, St. Louis and Las Vegas in July.

"All of these guys love playing together and I think one of the things that is great about Reggie is that he cares so much about being a good teammate," Ingram said.

Perry, who lived in Arkansas when he was younger, reminds Ingram of former Hawk, Razorback and current 15-year NBA veteran Joe Johnson.

"He is pretty much just like Joe in that he has so much talent, but he also helps make those around him better and that helps make the team better," Ingram said. "The one thing I know is that Reggie is a great basketball player with great skill, but his best basketball is ahead of him and that should make Razorback basketball fans very happy."

Sports on 06/22/2017