Kendrick Perkins meet Kendrick Perkins

Had to laugh about this even after the Celtics lost:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20100609another_kendrick_perkins_in_hub/


Another Kendrick Perkins in Hub
Dan Ventura By Dan Ventura
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - Added 2m ago

Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, meet Red Sox draft pick Kendrick Perkins.

The Red Sox selected Perkins, a power-hitting infielder/outfielder in the sixth round of the amateur baseball draft yesterday. Not only do the two share the same name, they also attended high schools in Texas less than an hour away. The Celtics’ Perkins played his high school basketball at Clifton J. Ozen in Beaumont, while the Red Sox’ Perkins just concluded his high school baseball career at La Porte High School.

“For real? You gotta be kidding,” the Celtics center said last night. “Another Kendrick Perkins? I thought there was only one of us out there. I didn’t know there was even anyone else named Kendrick (other than his son).”

Reached at his home last night, the younger Perkins still was stunned at the irony.

“It’s pretty crazy the more I think about it,” he said. “He’s in Boston and I get drafted by Boston. I thought I had a chance to get drafted by them because they were one of the teams that showed a lot of interest.”

The novelty for Kevin Perkins, Kendrick’s father, began several years ago. Perkins was a local hoops legend, a highly regarded center who was selected to play in the prestigious McDonald’s High School All-American Game.

“I remember taking Kendrick to one of his high school basketball games at the University of Texas when he was a young kid,” Kevin Perkins said. “I was hoping I could have one Kendrick meet the other, but we couldn’t get anywhere near the court.”

While the newest Red Sox draftee isn’t quite as big as the Celtics version, he is hardly a shrinking violet. A 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, Perkins rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior, earning scholarship offers from the likes of TCU, Kansas and SMU among others. But he made the decision to concentrate solely on baseball this season, making him more desirable in the eyes of Major League Baseball scouts.

“It really wasn’t all that hard a decision,” said Perkins, who is slated to play baseball at Texas A&M in the fall if things don’t work out with the Red Sox. “With my running style, I run over people instead of around and I knew I wasn’t going to last long in football that way. Baseball is easier on the body, though hitting a baseball is the toughest thing to do.”

Almost as tough as finding another Kendrick Perkins in Boston.