Last week SF State junior shooting guard Nefi Perdomo surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career total, becoming only the 12th player in the school’s history to reach this milestone. With 1,033 points under his belt, Perdomo moves into ninth place on the all-time scoring list.
Higher-level college players generally achieve this feat sometime during their third year of playing. Nate Robinson of the Golden State Warriors and Raymond Felton of the Portland Trail Blazers both passed the 1,000 mark their junior years.
Both NBA players abandoned their collegiate careers after their third year to play professionally, which is a dream Perdomo said he can hold out for.
“I most definitely want to play four years at this school. It’s a dream to go play overseas; that’s a dream and a goal that I have set,” said Perdomo, a criminal justice major. “But that’s after the fact that I finish school.”
Perdomo currently ranks top five in free throw attempts and three-point attempts in the school’s history. He’s made 316 field goals, 191 assists and 117 three-pointers which are all top 10 in SF State history. Eighteen games into the season, Perdomo is averaging 16 points and four assists per game. If he continues to build on an already impressive career, he will put an even larger dent in the history books.
As the team’s lead scorer, Perdomo poses as an offensive threat to any opponent. In the team’s most recent game against the UC San Diego Tritons, Perdomo had four assists and 19 points.
“When you go to game plan against (SF State) you better start with Nefi Perdomo,” said UC San Diego head coach, Chris Carlson. “I think the biggest thing for him is not so much focusing on what’s next. Focus on the now, focus on continuing to be a good player in the CCAA.”
Perdomo’s skills have not yet peaked; he continues to grow every day. Head coach Paul Trevor said he sees Perdomo’s growth both on and off the court.
“Over the time he’s spent here he’s really grown up and matured and become an excellent student as well as an excellent young man,” said Trevor. “I notice a transformation almost every day. He’s maturing; he wants to better himself on the court and that’s what makes him so successful.”
Former SF State guard and teammate for two seasons, Marquel Hoskins hasn’t seen a change in Perdomo’s natural disposition despite his growth.
“Personality hasn’t really changed, he’s really the same,” said Hoskins. “But as far as leadership role, I can see him trying to get to that point.”
Perdomo has been a shooting guard for the last three years at SF State, but standing at 6 feet 1 inch, Perdomo will have to change his position to point guard in order for his dream of playing overseas to come true. Perdomo will have to embrace the leadership position as point guard, something he feels confident about.
“Ever since I was old enough to grab a ball and shoot it, I had the dream of being a professional basketball player,” Perdomo said of his early aspirations. “I know that if I was to go overseas that I would have to change my position and become a point guard and I’m willing to do that. I think I’m very capable of doing it. I have the ball handling skill but I will need to work on it more.”
It is not uncommon for players to change positions and find success. Former UCLA standout Russell Westbrook played shooting guard in high school as well as in college and made the move to point guard when he was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Coach Trevor believes Perdomo has the tools to be a scoring guard, but he is also capable of playing point guard. However, before Perdomo can make the change to the lead guard position there are still a few things he needs to learn, including trusting and playing off of his teammates.
“What he runs into right now a little bit is he takes the world on his shoulders; he kind of wants to make the play that saves the team instead of trusting that we can all do it together,” Trevor said. “I think that’s one thing that he’s still learning about, and he’s getting better.”
