Jordan Perry maintained a positive attitude after suffering a major knee injury that forced him to miss his senior basketball season at Vista Murrieta (Calif.) High School.

At the time of the injury — a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, sustained during an Oct. 2011 contest — Perry knew that he was capable of playing at the next level. He worked vigorously to rehabilitate the joint, but couldn’t help overhearing what some people around him were saying about his chances of returning to the court with the same abilities as he had before the injury. For the first time in his basketball career, Perry had doubts.

That’s why he’s so thankful that Wenatchee Valley College men’s basketball coach Coby Weidenbach answered his email. Perry was looking for a place to play and prove that he was not only healthy, but capable of playing at a high level, and that place turned out to be WVC.

“With that type of knee injury,” Perry said, “people were like, ‘Oh, he might not ever come back, he might not be back to where he was at.’ I was definitely scared. I didn’t know what to expect. I (had an) uncertain future. People were telling me, ‘Take a year off, don’t go to college next year, just wait.’ (There were) a lot of different things going through my mind. I didn’t really know where I was going to end up.

“(Weidenbach signing me) was like a weight off my shoulders, because that’s all I needed. I just needed one chance. Now I just (want to) prove to everybody what I can do now that I’m healthy.”

Perry, by his own admission, isn’t quite completely healthy just yet. But during the first two months of his college career, he certainly is proving just how good a player he is and can be in the future.

The 6-foot-5 wing is leading the Knights in scoring at 17.7 points per game (a figure that ranks 15th in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges); shooting a healthy 48 percent from the field; and second on the team in rebounding (6.59 per contest).

“I think (the season) is going real good,” he said. “I came into the season with high expectations for myself because of where I was at before I hurt my knee. I knew I could get back there; it just took a little longer than expected with the surgery and everything, but now I feel that I’m back to where I was.”

“With how much he desired to play and his work ethic, (his success at WVC doesn’t) surprise me too much,” said Andy Rucker, Perry’s coach at Vista Murrieta. “I knew he was going to be in great shape in the long run.

"Jordan was always just bigger and stronger than most. We purposely played him at the big guard (spot), and for some time played him at the point guard spot so he could develop his skills and usually have a mismatch. He also just simply outworked (his opponents) inside and was relentless.

“He’s a good kid, hard worker and has some talent to back it all up. I feel that Wenatchee got a steal from southern California.”

Weidenbach, who has been in contact with coaches from four-year schools about Perry, has been careful to ration Perry’s playing time in games and practices in order to make sure that the knee holds up.

But Perry estimates that he’s at about “95 percent” right now, and hasn’t had any setbacks so far this season.

“It’s a process the first year back,” Weidenbach said. “He’s going through this grind of a season; we’ve got (a month) left in league play, with two games every week, and two practices in between. There’s a fatigue factor right now, and some of his other muscles are overworking to (compensate) for the knee.

“He’ll really be 100 percent about a month after the season ends, once he’s able to recover and hit the weights harder. He’s going to be real dangerous at that point. We do open gyms in the spring, and he’s going to be fun to watch. He’ll be dominant.”

Perry averaged 8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game at Vista Murrieta as a junior, and seemed primed to have an excellent senior season, but that outlook was scuttled after he went up for a rebound during a preseason contest and landed awkwardly on his right leg.

He crumpled to the floor, but got up moments later; at the time, he didn’t think he had suffered a serious injury. “I thought I was only going to miss one game,” he said.

He underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test later that week, which confirmed the ACL tear.

“It affected me a lot, just watching my team be successful, and even lose knowing that I could’ve helped them,” he said. “I knew it was up to me how hard I was going to work, if I was going to get back or not. I always knew that I could play at the next level. I just had to get back and prove that to people, because without a senior year, I didn’t really have anything to go on.”

“Jordan was very supportive of his team during his senior year, and unless he was in rehab he was with us in the gym,” Rucker said. “We did have a few talks about his situation and what he was going (though) and just how hard it must have been on him during that time, especially for a kid that had a great opportunity to play at the next level.

“As for his rehab, I think he did a great job with that because he knew what was at the end of the tunnel. His attitude, as you could expect, was one of disbelief that something like that happened, but I think over time he accepted it and worked really hard to get back to where he was before his injury.

“I think the process that Jordan went through has and will make him a better athlete and person, because I feel that he appreciates the abilities that have been given to him and the second chance that he has been afforded.”

Last year, Perry sent emails and highlight videos to coaches of schools in the NWAACC. Weidenbach read Perry’s email, watched the video and decided that the high-schooler could play in the NWAACC, but wanted to see him play in person first.

Weidenbach flew to southern California last summer and met Perry at a gymnasium at La Verne University. After the workout, Weidenbach offered Perry a scholarship.

“He’s versatile,” Weidenbach said. “I’ve seen him post up smaller guards and step back against bigger guards, and he played point guard for his high school team. It’s hard to find a guy with that much size and that much ball skill. I’m able to put him at any of the five positions.

“He’s got good basketball knowledge, and if you ask him to do things on the court, he’s going to respond in the right way. He’s got a great body for the NWAACC, and he’s able to create mismatch problems.”

Perry might have lost his final high school season, but it appears as if all of the goals he set for himself before his injury are still attainable.

And he never lost his confidence.

“I think (my play) has kind of surprised some other people, but I knew what I could do. I’ve always known what I could do,” Perry said. “I just needed (to get) all the way back. I feel that I never really lost it.”