Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 10:36:00 GMT -5
Interesting story from my old neighborhood. I grew up a few blocks from Chauncey Billups, back in the days before they turned the old Stapleton Airport into an upscale neighborhood. Of course, Chauncey is a lot younger than me, but I remember his high school days (and NCAA days in Boulder) quite fondly.
The story behind the tattoo Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins wears to honor Chauncey Billups
Perkins wants to be the Prince of Park Hill
www.denverpost.com/2017/04/02/kiszla-story-behind-tattoo-gonzaga-josh-perkins-honor-chauncey-billups/
April 2, 2017
GLENDALE, Ariz.— In Denver, where Chauncey Billups is the undisputed king of all things basketball, what Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins did took some big, brass … backbone. He not only declared himself as heir to the throne; Perkins stamped the intention across his chest with a tattoo.
The tattoo was right there for everybody in the Gonzaga locker room to see, as a bare-chested Perkins sat beaming in the warm afterglow of a 77-73 victory Saturday against South Carolina that sent the Zags to the national championship game for the first time in school history. With a calling card inked permanently near his heart, Perkins isn’t afraid to tell the basketball world where he’s from and who he is:
“Why the Prince of Park Hill?” asked a stranger unfamiliar with Perkins or the Denver neighborhood where he grew up.
With his voice immediately dropping a full octave in reverence, Perkins explained: “Park Hill, it’s where I’m from. And Chauncey is the king. So I want to be the prince.”
For as long as anybody in Colorado can remember, Billups has been the King of Park Hill. With a silky jumper and titanium handle built as a child in the 1980s, Billups put Denver on the basketball map, becoming a local legend at George Washington High School and the University of Colorado before winning the NBA championship in 2004 as a star guard for the Detroit Pistons.
Perkins, however, is about to do something even Billups never did on the court. As more than 75,000 fans rise to their feet in anticipation of the showdown between Gonzaga and North Carolina on Monday night, the public address announcer will introduce the Zags’ starting point guard as: Josh Perkins from Park Hill, Colorado. Not Denver. From the hood.
“The inner city made me who I am,” Perkins told me Sunday.
Then he told the story of a tattoo that pays tribute to Billups, who was a hero when an awestruck, 7-year-old Perkins first met the city’s one and only basketball king during a clinic at the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center. But, through the years, the old NBA guard and the fresh, young prince have become fast friends that chuckle over tall tales told from the chair of Hillside Barbers in the 2800 block of Fairfax Street.
“Chauncey is my big brother,” Perkins said.
When Perkins went off to college in 2014, the 6-foot-3 point guard wanted some new ink, and knew exactly the body art he had in mind. But before getting the tattoo, Perkins felt obliged to inform the king, and a conversation that began playfully quickly turned serious.
Perkins: “I want to be the first one from Park Hill after you to make it in basketball. I want to get a tat that says I’m the prince.”
And Billups replied: “Hey, man. If you say it, then you’ve got to do it. You have to put your money where your mouth is.”
While the Zags now like to say they aren’t a cute little underdog any longer, a chip on the shoulder remains standard issue with every uniform, because all these players weren’t quite good enough to be North Carolina Tar Heels or Kentucky Wildcats or Kansas Jayhawks. Averaging 8.0 points and 3.1 assists per game, Perkins orchestrates the offense for a team with a 37-1 record, and has been rock-steady despite a back injury suffered in early December.
But there’s also an unmistakable need in Perkins to prove he’s worthy, to show that a kid from Denver can cut down the nets at the Final Four, to win acceptance from the one player he has always wanted to be.
“Look,” said Perkins, holding up his cellphone on the eve on the national championship game, “I got a text today from Billups.”
The King reached out and touched The Prince with his blessing and a wish.
This is a quest to bring the trophy home to Park Hill.
The story behind the tattoo Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins wears to honor Chauncey Billups
Perkins wants to be the Prince of Park Hill
www.denverpost.com/2017/04/02/kiszla-story-behind-tattoo-gonzaga-josh-perkins-honor-chauncey-billups/
April 2, 2017
GLENDALE, Ariz.— In Denver, where Chauncey Billups is the undisputed king of all things basketball, what Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins did took some big, brass … backbone. He not only declared himself as heir to the throne; Perkins stamped the intention across his chest with a tattoo.
The tattoo was right there for everybody in the Gonzaga locker room to see, as a bare-chested Perkins sat beaming in the warm afterglow of a 77-73 victory Saturday against South Carolina that sent the Zags to the national championship game for the first time in school history. With a calling card inked permanently near his heart, Perkins isn’t afraid to tell the basketball world where he’s from and who he is:
“Why the Prince of Park Hill?” asked a stranger unfamiliar with Perkins or the Denver neighborhood where he grew up.
With his voice immediately dropping a full octave in reverence, Perkins explained: “Park Hill, it’s where I’m from. And Chauncey is the king. So I want to be the prince.”
For as long as anybody in Colorado can remember, Billups has been the King of Park Hill. With a silky jumper and titanium handle built as a child in the 1980s, Billups put Denver on the basketball map, becoming a local legend at George Washington High School and the University of Colorado before winning the NBA championship in 2004 as a star guard for the Detroit Pistons.
Perkins, however, is about to do something even Billups never did on the court. As more than 75,000 fans rise to their feet in anticipation of the showdown between Gonzaga and North Carolina on Monday night, the public address announcer will introduce the Zags’ starting point guard as: Josh Perkins from Park Hill, Colorado. Not Denver. From the hood.
“The inner city made me who I am,” Perkins told me Sunday.
Then he told the story of a tattoo that pays tribute to Billups, who was a hero when an awestruck, 7-year-old Perkins first met the city’s one and only basketball king during a clinic at the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center. But, through the years, the old NBA guard and the fresh, young prince have become fast friends that chuckle over tall tales told from the chair of Hillside Barbers in the 2800 block of Fairfax Street.
“Chauncey is my big brother,” Perkins said.
When Perkins went off to college in 2014, the 6-foot-3 point guard wanted some new ink, and knew exactly the body art he had in mind. But before getting the tattoo, Perkins felt obliged to inform the king, and a conversation that began playfully quickly turned serious.
Perkins: “I want to be the first one from Park Hill after you to make it in basketball. I want to get a tat that says I’m the prince.”
And Billups replied: “Hey, man. If you say it, then you’ve got to do it. You have to put your money where your mouth is.”
While the Zags now like to say they aren’t a cute little underdog any longer, a chip on the shoulder remains standard issue with every uniform, because all these players weren’t quite good enough to be North Carolina Tar Heels or Kentucky Wildcats or Kansas Jayhawks. Averaging 8.0 points and 3.1 assists per game, Perkins orchestrates the offense for a team with a 37-1 record, and has been rock-steady despite a back injury suffered in early December.
But there’s also an unmistakable need in Perkins to prove he’s worthy, to show that a kid from Denver can cut down the nets at the Final Four, to win acceptance from the one player he has always wanted to be.
“Look,” said Perkins, holding up his cellphone on the eve on the national championship game, “I got a text today from Billups.”
The King reached out and touched The Prince with his blessing and a wish.
This is a quest to bring the trophy home to Park Hill.
