Boys basketball: Perrine out for Newport Harbor

Tony Altobelli

Newport Harbor High senior point guard Greg Perrine will be out for

at least six months with a completely torn anterior cruciate ligament in

his right knee, according to Coach Larry Hirst and Greg’s father, John.

“A lot will depend on Greg’s tenacity, but we’re still shooting for

him to be back with the team by the start of the season,” John Perrine

said. “We’re going to the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic for a second

opinion, but for now, we’re looking at surgery on July 31 and therapy

from there.”

In addition to the ACL rupture, Perrine also has a tear in the medial

meniscus, but that will be healed by the time the ACL injury is healed.

Hirst, a former hoops standout who has undergone four knee surgeries

himself, knows what is in store for Perrine.

“You never want to have a player go through the same type of surgeries

that you’ve gone through,” Hirst said. “Fortunately for Greg, modern

medicine has come such a long way. Back in my day, a torn ACL would mean

that you’re done. But Heather Cullen is a great example of beating the

odds.”

Cullen, a standout girls volleyball player for the Sailors (now

attending UCLA), tore her ACL on May 16, 2000 but returned to the court

on Nov. 7 and managed to make a contribution to Coach Dan Glenn’s squad.

Perrine, who is expected to be out anywhere from five to seven months,

injured his knee during a summer league game on July 16. “Greg was going

in for a layup on a fast break, planted his right knee and his knee

buckled,” John Perrine said.

“At first, Greg thought he just hyperextended his knee, but the UCSD

training staff took him in and gave their prognosis, which was a torn

ACL. He had an MRI on Wednesday and we got the results (Monday).”

Perrine has been a mainstay in the Sailors’ backcourt for the past two

seasons. As a junior, he averaged nine points and six assists per game

and was a second-team, All-Sea View League selection for Newport.