McMurry Men's Hoops Adds Junior College Transfer A.J. Peralta
By: McMurry Athletics
Updated: June 9, 2012
ABILENE, Texas - McMurry University's new men's basketball head coach Chris Beard has announced his first scholarship signee for the 2012-13 War Hawks' team, landing junior college transfer A.J. Peralta (Roswell, N.M.).
Peralta - a 6-foot-7, 200-lb. forward - played two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute (2010-12) prior to committing to McMurry. He also had a stellar prep career at Roswell (N.M.) High School.
At NNMI, as a sophomore in 2011-12, he posted career-best numbers of 9.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, appearing in all 28 contests for the 12-17 Broncos. He booked 26 blocks and made 31 steals on the defensive end, as well. His 59.3 percent (102-172) shooting from the field ranked third in Region 5 statistics for 2011-12 and he was selected honorable mention All-Western Junior College Athletic Conference. In two JUCO seasons, he averaged 8.9 p.p.g. and 6.0 r.p.g.
"A.J. will be a tremendous asset to McMurry Basketball," NMMI head coach Sean Schooley said. "He will do what he does best, which is to out-work everyone on a daily basis. He is the toughest kid I've coached in 25 years and it will be a great fit for everyone involved."
At Roswell H.S., Peralta was the cornerstone of back-to-back state championships during his junior and senior seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10). Coached by Britt Cooper, Peralta earned all-state honors as a senior.
The War Hawks open the 2012-13 campaign at home on November 13 versus Northern New Mexico College.
