All gas, no brakes

Murphy Perkins has one mindset going into each and every basketball game -- give it everything he has every time he takes the floor.

"I don't really care who I'm playing, how big they are, how fast they are or how much talent they have on their team," Perkins said. "I know that I'm going to play as hard as I can."

The work ethic is evident in Perkins, a 6-foot senior point guard for the Siloam Springs boys basketball team. Heading into Friday's homecoming game against Greenbrier, Perkins leads the Panthers in several statistical categories, including 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.4 defensive deflections per game.

What may be more impressive is Perkins averages more than 25 minutes per contest in a 32-minute game -- something not lost on his coaches.

"His attitude and his effort have been amazing," said Siloam Springs boys coach Tim Stewart."People don't realize the level of toughness that is there for a kid to keep battling and to play major minutes. He's all over the floor. As far as dives and hustles it's every game all game. It's been a real joy to watch him develop and to not only be that competitive athlete but now be a leader and a basketball player for us."

Early on in Perkins' career, coaches would joke that Perkins played so hard and so fast that he often needed to downshift a few gears.

"He couldn't catch up to his athleticism," Stewart said. "That's the skill part in basketball. Youhave to have the skill to match the athleticism or else it's not useful. That's where Murphy has really worked. His outside shot is much improved and you have to guard him out there now. He's not just a penetration threat. He's not just a dribble threat. He's a shooter. That's made him a really hard player to defend."