DOVER — Stephen Wilson hasn’t forgotten the first time he met Denim Perkins.

Perkins was just a fourth grader at South Dover Elementary and Wilson — the Dover High boys’ basketball coach — was visiting the youngsters at the school.

Perkins told Wilson he was going to be a high school basketball player.

Only, the little guy also told Wilson that he was going to play for Sanford, the highly regarded program that had beaten the Senators that season.

“He said, ‘You guys just lost to Sanford, I’m going to Sanford,’” Wilson remembered. “I looked at him and I said, ‘You’re going to be right here with me at Dover High School.’’”

Sure enough, eight years later, Perkins has grown into the leader of a Dover squad that is 15-2 and is again considered one of the best teams in the state.

Perkins just delivered a 26-point night in the Senators’ 72-52 win over defending state champion Salesianum on Tuesday night. The senior had 11 points in the second quarter when Dover took control.

Wilson said his veteran point guards are always like a coach on the floor. But he said few of them have handled the job as well as Perkins.

“He’s now emerged as the best point guard in the state and one of the best leaders that I’ve ever had arguably,” said Wilson. “That doesn’t mean scoring the ball, that means running the team.

“Denim brings the IQ. Denim brings the toughness on the defensive end, guarding 94 feet. He worked out three times a day during the summer. He lifts. He believes in doing his schoolwork.

“It’s about the way that his mother has raised him to be a young man, and be a leader and be a student-athlete first.”

Dover head basketball coach Stephen Wilson said Denim Perkins has matured as a leader over the last couple years. SPECIAL TO THE DAILY STATE …

Small but mighty

Probably what Perkins does best is simply annoy the opposition.

Listed generously at 5-foot-9, he always seems to be around the ball, reaching for it, knocking it away. He averages four steals a game but impacts a lot more plays than that during a game.

“He tries to get everything,” senior Nahseem Cosme said about facing Perkins in practice. “Most of the time he does. You try to slap his hand away, it doesn’t work.”

“Him being so little and quick, it’s hard to stop,” said another senior, Noah Allen. “You can’t really do anything about it.”

Perkins said his motivation for playing and working hard is pretty simple.

“I hate losing, that’s one thing,” he said. “I hate losing. Whatever I need to do to get the job done — whatever is asked — I’ll do it.”

Perkins, who first started playing in Holy Cross’ CYM league in Dover, said he usually was playing against older kids. When he was in second grade, he’d play against fifth and sixth graders.

Besides, said Perkins, most of his friends were older anyway.

“It just came naturally,” he said. “It definitely raised my confidence because, when I came back to play with my regular age group, everything was just so much easier.”

Wilson said Perkins is athletic enough that he’s seen him dunk the ball.

On the other hand, usually being the smallest guy on the court made Perkins think about the game more. He realized .that being a tough defender was going to have to be part of his game.

“You’ve got to be at this size,” he said with a laugh. “To stay on the court, you’ve got to play defense at my size.”

Denim Perkins has proven he's equally adept at being a passer or a scorer for the Senators. SPECIAL TO THE DAILY STATE NEWS/GARY EMEIGH.

Whatever is needed

But Perkins has proven he’s capable of doing anything the Senators need from him.

Along with his four steals per game, he averages 12.5 points, 6.5 assists and three rebounds. Wilson said Perkins has always been a player who tries to get his teammates involved first.

Against Sallies on Tuesday night, however, what Dover needed from Perkins was some scoring. He finished with 18 points and four three-pointers in the first half when the contest was up for grabs.

“He was in that zone,” said teammate Dorell Little. “He saw what he could do so he just took over the game. He works really hard so the work is going to show.”

Wilson admits that he and Perkins “bumped heads a little bit” when the youngster first got to high school. Now, though, the two have a strong bond.

Perkins’ teammates say he’s definitely their leader on the court.

“He does everything for us,” said Cosme. “From going out to a team dinner to running our offense. It’s always good to have somebody like that on the team.

“You go on the court, you don’t have your coach, but you need a coach on the court to help you. He tells you everything you need and you just do it.”

“He scores when he wants to but he makes everybody else better,” said Allen.

More than anything, Perkins would love to help Dover win its first boys’ basketball state title.

But he also realizes it’s not easy. It can’t be the only goal the Senators’ talk about.

And there’s a lot to be said for staying even-keeled.

“Especially on the good days,” said Perkins. “On the good days, you just get ahead of yourself sometimes. But you’ve got to stay humble, stay prepared, especially for the long run.”

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa.org. Follow on X at @DSNsports.

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