Can St. Louis Basketball recover from Javonte Perkins season-ending injury?

Star guard Javonte Perkins of St. Louis Basketball is unfortunately out for the season with an ACL injury. Can the Billikens still be competitive in A-10 play?

In the Atlantic 10 preseason power rankings for the 2021-22 season, both Saint Bonaventure and Richmond have been viewed as the consensus top 2 teams to beat. And considering that both programs feature lineups filled with seniors, it makes sense. Yet an argument could be made that Saint Louis Basketball had their own case, thanks to the return of star guard Javonte Perkins.

The 6’6 guard has been with the Billikens the past couple of seasons, averaging at least 15 ppg. As a full-time starter in 2020-21, Perkins averaged 17.1 ppg on 47% shooting from the field and 37% from deep. He had a number of big individual performances, including a career-high 32 points in a win over LSU.

After electing to come back for an extra year of eligibility, Perkins was set to be the clear leader of Saint Louis Basketball this season, now that both Hasahn French and Jordan Goodwin are gone. And thanks to some talented newcomers joining Perkins, this team had a real chance of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. That was, until unfortunately, until the star guard suffered a devastating leg injury this past week.

The injury was suffered during an exhibition game against D-II program Rockhurst. It’s a brutal blow to the Billikens, who were relying on Perkins to be the go-to scorer and consistent offensive production on offense. When it comes to winning the Atlantic 10 regular-season title, this is likely a fatal blow. However, don’t expect this team to tumble all the way down the conference standings this season either.

From a scoring perspective, there are multiple options on the perimeter to help offset Perkins’ numbers. 6’5 guard Gibson Jimerson averaged 7.8 ppg as a freshman and shot 39% from three-point range. Look for him to take a sizeable role in the lineup at the two-spot. At the wing, there’s Fred Thatch, who isn’t a proven high-level scorer but is a solid rebounder and defender. And there’s transfer Jordan Nesbitt, a former top-100 prospect that came back to his hometown this offseason. The 6’6 wing will get a jump in minutes as well and has a higher scoring ceiling that Thatch.

It also helps that Saint Louis has a steady point guard in Yuri Collins, one of the best passers in the Atlantic 10. He’s not much of a scorer though and that will have to change to help replace Perkins. And don’t forget about two other guard transfers in Deandre Jones and Rashad Williams, both of whom are capable three-point shooters and double-digit contributors.

With genuine respect to Perkins, one thing this injury has done was solve a potential logjam in the backcourt, now that 30 mpg has opened up. The roster for the Billikens is a lot deeper than meets the eyes and if they can find someone to step up and be that 14-17 ppg producer, this team will still be in solid shape to finish in the top-4 of the Atlantic 10.

Best wishes to Javonte Perkins, who may not be on the court this season but still will be part of Saint Louis Basketball, who is far from done for the 2021-22 campaign.