Perentis ready to fulfill basketball dream at Ottawa

Louisburg senior Parker Perentis recently signed his letter of intent to play basketball at Ottawa University next season. Perentis was one of five seniors on the Wildcat basketball team last year. 

Surrounded by family, friends and coaches, Parker Perentis made his dream come true with one swipe of a pen.

During a signing ceremony at Louisburg High School on May 2, Perentis made it official as he signed his letter of intent to play basketball at Ottawa University. As easy as it was to write his name on the dotted line, it was the amount of hard work he put in years earlier that made it possible for the Wildcat senior to live out his goal.

“I am super excited,” Perentis said. “It has been my dream my whole life to play college basketball. I was blessed to have heard from a friend’s dad to apply at Ottawa and tell the coach that I was interested, and I did. They were gracious enough to contact me, I went out and visited and it was perfect. It is time to fulfill a dream and go to Ottawa.”

Perentis, who played significant minutes for the Louisburg basketball team this past season, liked what he saw when he took his campus visit to Ottawa and it turned out to be a perfect fit.

“The coaching staff was amazing,” Perentis said. “It had a feel like it was more of a family there. The campus there was great. Plus, Ottawa just felt like a small town, kind of like Louisburg. It felt like home, and it was close enough that I can go back home if I need to and my family can come watch me play. Plus I have friends that go there, so it just seemed like the perfect fit.”

Basketball has engulfed much of Perentis’ life since he was in elementary school and his love for the game continued to grow with him. Whether it was on his middle and high school teams, or playing summer ball, Perentis realized many people helped him along the way – many of whom were at his signing.

LHS senior Parker Perentis signed his letter of intent on May 2 to play basketball at Ottawa. Sitting next to Parker are his parents Kim and Ron Perentis. Standing (from left) is Louisburg boys basketball coach Ty Pfannenstiel and Ottawa head coach Aaron Siebenthall.

“I have been playing since first grade,” he said. “Shawn Lowry (current LHS girls head coach) coached me a lot through fifth grade and I have just been playing summer ball and school ball ever since.

“It is the greatest feeling ever to see that everyone that has been there for you since day one wanted to come and see an important time in my life. It means a lot that my family, friends and coaches took time out of their day to support me in this. It is really cool to see.”

As much hard work as it was for Perentis to reach this point in his life, he also knows it is only going to get tougher in the coming years. Playing time at Ottawa will be hard to come by and he is going to have start from the bottom and work his way up.

Perentis, who is planning on majoring in management information systems and economics, wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I just want to go there and see what happens,” Perentis said. “I don’t expect much my freshman and sophomore years, but hopefully by the time I am a junior or senior, I can make the varsity team. My goal is to be an Academic All-American, so I need to make sure to keep my grades in line. I need to work hard and put in the time. I am just ready to finish out high school and see what happens in the next chapter of my life.”