BIO: Growing up in Seddon, Jock Perry came from a tall family, but his rapid growth led to repeated injuries, including 13 broken bones, before medical testing identified unusually elevated insulin-like growth hormone levels and a tumour on his pituitary gland.

After a scan located the tumour, he underwent surgery within a month and it was removed via a procedure through the nostril, with the tumour later confirmed as benign, allowing him to return his focus to basketball development after the health scare.

A relative latecomer to the sport, he joined the Australian Institute of Sport Centre of Excellence pathway in 2013 (U16) and dealt with knee and hand injuries, while also spending three years at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence.

During his junior years he graduated from Lake Ginninderra College in 2015, helped Victoria’s regional team win national junior championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015, and at the 2015 U20 Australian Junior Championships he averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, including 10 points and eight rebounds in the final.

He also represented Australia in age-group competition, playing on national junior teams that won the FIBA U16 Oceania titles in 2012 and 2013, was selected as a reserve for the U19 squad at the 2014 Oceania Championships, and he later committed to play college basketball at Saint Mary’s College of California after his development years.

As a teenager, Perry faced future teammate Jock Landale in a game that ended in an upset win for Perry’s side, an early meeting that foreshadowed their later connection in the United States. Perry received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2013. He spent three years year there and played for the program’s state league team (2013, 2014, 2015).

FAMILY: Son of Lincoln and Joanne Perry. Has one brother, George

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jock Perry made his NBL debut with the Tasmania JackJumpers at 24 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Tasmania entered the NBL as the league’s newest expansion side under former Perth Wildcats assistant Scott Roth, who assembled the inaugural roster around imports Josh Adams, Josh Magette and MiKyle McIntosh alongside Will Magnay (via Perth), Jack McVeigh (via Adelaide), Clint Steindl (via Perth), Sam McDaniel (via Melbourne), Jarrad Weeks (via Sydney), Fabijan Krslovic (via Cairns) and Jarred Bairstow (via Perth). Expectations were low, with multiple betting agencies offering 400:1 odds on Tasmania winning the championship.

After four years in the US college system with Saint Mary’s and UC Riverside before returning to Australia with the Ballarat Miners, Perry (via Ballarat) was announced as a development player alongside Sean Macdonald on August 17, completing Tasmania’s 15-man inaugural roster.

Tasmania opened its first NBL season against Brisbane at MyState Bank Arena on December 3, where Perry did not take the floor as the JackJumpers defeated the Bullets 83-74 in overtime. Adams (20 points) and Magette (19 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists) led Tasmania, while Sobey (24 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) was Brisbane’s best.

Perry made his NBL debut against Adelaide at MyState Bank Arena on December 9, where Perry (0 points) played 2:47 off the bench as the 36ers defeated Tasmania 83-80. Steindl (22 points and 4 rebounds) and Adams (15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals) led the JackJumpers, while Hannahs (15 points and 4 assists) was Adelaide’s leading scorer.

Perry (1.9 points across 17 games) provided frontcourt depth as a development player, appearing in 16 regular-season games and one playoff game while making two starts. There was no reported injury that kept Perry out during NBL22, with his limited appearances coming while he remained outside the regular rotation behind Magnay and Bairstow. Heading into round eight Tasmania had won only one more game and sat ninth with a 2-6 record before Magnay (7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks across 11 games) suffered a season-ending knee injury, opening more minutes in the frontcourt and seeing Perry elevated into the lineup.

Perry (0 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal) made his first NBL start against South East Melbourne at John Cain Arena on February 13 with Magnay unavailable through injury, playing 12:48 as the Phoenix defeated Tasmania 83-71. Adams (23 points) and Magette (10 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the JackJumpers, while Broekhoff (18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals) was South East Melbourne’s best. “It was Jock Perry’s first time starting and Fab, JB and our bigs all fought hard,” Roth said.

Perry’s best regular-season scoring game came against Perth at MyState Bank Arena on February 28, where Perry (7 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist) played nine minutes off the bench. McVeigh (16 points and 5 rebounds) and McIntosh (15 points) led Tasmania, while Cotton (20 points and 5 assists) led Perth to an 89-78 victory.

Perry’s best game of the season came against Perth at RAC Arena on March 24, where Perry (3 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) provided eight minutes off the bench as Tasmania defeated the Wildcats 85-83. McVeigh (19 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Steindl (15 points) led the JackJumpers before Adams (14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) hit the go-ahead three-pointer in the closing seconds, while Cotton (23 points and 5 assists) led Perth.

Adams (17.5 points and 3.3 rebounds across 34 games) led Tasmania in scoring and was named to the All-NBL Second Team before later winning the JackJumpers’ inaugural club MVP, while McVeigh (12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds across 33 games), Magette (11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.4 steals across 34 games), Steindl (9 points across 34 games) and McIntosh (8.7 points and 3.8 rebounds across 34 games) were the other major contributors. Roth was named NBL Coach of the Year, Steindl finished third in voting for Best Sixth Man and McVeigh received the Gametime by Kmart Award before finishing second in Tasmania’s MVP voting and being named Fan Favourite. Kenyon received the club’s Defensive Player of the Year award, Krslovic received the Coaches Award and Weeks received the Players Award.

Tasmania closed its scheduled regular season against first-placed Melbourne at MyState Bank Arena on April 23, where Perry (0 points) played 2:05 off the bench as the JackJumpers won 83-61 behind McIntosh (20 points) and Adams (19 points), while Agada (22 points and 8 rebounds) was Melbourne’s best. The victory completed a run of 10 wins from Tasmania’s final 12 games and left the JackJumpers with a 17-11 record.

Tasmania still needed Perth to lose its final game to reach the postseason, and South East Melbourne defeated the Wildcats 102-100 in overtime the following day, ending Perth’s 35-year playoff streak and allowing Tasmania to move into fourth place on points percentage.

Game one of the semifinals moved to John Cain Arena, where Perry did not play as defending champion Melbourne defeated Tasmania 74-63. Adams (16 points and 5 rebounds) and McVeigh (15 points and 4 rebounds) led the JackJumpers, while Agada (16 points and 7 rebounds) and Lual-Acuil Jr (15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 blocks) led United.

Game two returned to MyState Bank Arena, where Perry again did not take the floor as Tasmania evened the series with a 79-72 victory. McVeigh (15 points), McIntosh (13 points) and Magette (12 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals) led the JackJumpers, while Goulding (18 points), Agada (14 points and 5 rebounds) and Lual-Acuil Jr (13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks) were Melbourne’s best.

Game three returned to John Cain Arena, where Melbourne captain Chris Goulding suffered a calf injury during warmups and was ruled out of the deciding game, while Perry did not play. Adams (30 points), McVeigh (16 points) and Magette (9 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals) led Tasmania, while Ili (18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists), Lual-Acuil Jr (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and White (14 points and 15 rebounds) led Melbourne before the JackJumpers won 76-73 and advanced to the Grand Final in their inaugural season.

Sydney swept Illawarra on the opposite side of the bracket before the Grand Final series opened at Qudos Bank Arena, where Perry did not play as the Kings defeated Tasmania 95-78. McVeigh (14 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals), McIntosh (14 points and 4 rebounds) and Adams (13 points and 8 rebounds) led the JackJumpers, while Jaylen Adams (18 points), Clark (17 points and 2 steals) and Cooks (14 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists) led Sydney. Jaylen Adams suffered a left hamstring injury during the fourth quarter that ruled him out for the remainder of the series, while McVeigh suffered a shoulder injury and did not return.

Game two moved to MyState Bank Arena, where Perry did not play as Adams (36 points), Weeks (11 points), McVeigh (10 points and 8 rebounds) and Magette (10 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led Tasmania. Cooks (20 points and 11 rebounds), Martin (20 points and 10 rebounds) and Vasiljevic (20 points and 5 rebounds) led Sydney before Vasiljevic hit a long-range three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to secure a 90-86 victory. It was Sydney’s 12th consecutive road victory, the most away wins during a single NBL season.

Dejan Vasiljevic with the 𝘿𝘼𝙂𝙂𝙀𝙍 🗡️

📺 Watch the #NBLFinals Live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/XDIgoHVKo9

— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) May 8, 2022

The flu swept through Tasmania ahead of game three at Qudos Bank Arena, with McVeigh and Krslovic ruled out and Perry (8 points and 2 rebounds) returning to the rotation for his only playoff appearance, making two three-pointers during the first half as Tasmania stayed with Sydney. Adams (27 points and 2 steals), McIntosh (14 points and 8 rebounds) and Magette (12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals) led the JackJumpers, while Cooks (23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks), Martin (22 points, 17 rebounds, and 1 block) and Clark (22 points and 3 assists) led Sydney to a 97-88 victory in front of a Grand Final record crowd of 16,149. The Kings completed the 3-0 sweep for their first championship in 17 years and their 19th win from their final 21 games, with Cooks named Grand Final MVP. Cooks and Martin combined for 45 points and 30 rebounds.

Jock Perry played one season in the NBL. He averaged 1.9 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 17 NBL games.