On Monday, May 22, 2023, Pennridge seniors Gannon Perlini & Matt Campione were recognized for committing to continue their basketball careers at the collegiate level. Perlini’s story took an unexpected twist. (Perlini action shot courtesy Tracy Valko. Visit the full gallery: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p98630808 )
Matt Campione – The Catholic University of America (Basketball)
Major: Mathematics
Final list of colleges: Catholic, Ursinus, Wheaton
Reasons for choosing Catholic: “I really loved the coaches and players. When I visited, it felt like a good fit.”
Coach Dean Behrens says: “Matt Campione came back, and this was his third year starting for us. He really helped lead us to the kind of season I don’t think many people expected. He was a big part of the fact that we got in the Suburban One Tournament as well as the district playoffs. The thing about Matt was that he not only was our top scorer, but he also usually played the best offensive player from the other team, so he was bought in playing on both the offensive and defensive end.”
About Matt:
Favorite food: Stromboli
Favorite movie: Rocky IV
Favorite music: Country
The Road to Lebanon Valley not a Typical One for Perlini
‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’
It’s an overused phrase, but it sums up exactly what Gannon Perlini – thanks to a savvy social media post - did when he received the distressing news on June 23 that Cabrini University would be closing its doors after the 2023-24 school year. It was crushing news for the Pennridge grad who was committed to play basketball for the Cavaliers, and he suddenly found himself without a school. Unless, that is, he wanted to go for just one year.
Perlini’s story has a happy ending, and he will be taking his talents to Lebanon Valley College, but his journey was as challenging as it was unexpected.
“Obviously, it was really late, so I was kind of upset,” Perlini said of the news of Cabrini’s closure. “I really wanted to go there. It felt like home, it was really close. It was an ideal situation for me. It felt right.
“I found out while I was on vacation – it was just a mess. Once it was sold, what does that mean for us? We had a zoom call. They were talking to us incoming freshman and said – ‘This will be like a prep school or junior college type of year. We’re going to make as much film for you as possible, and then we’re going to move on.’
“For me – it’s sort of risky. I wanted to go somewhere where I could play right away, get acclimated to a system and get used to a campus. I wasn’t looking to transfer. With something like that, it was insane. I was taken aback. In a matter of hours, it was like – this is where I’m going, and a few hours later it was – this is only a year type setting. It wasn’t for me. I decommitted the next day. I think I was the first one that really did.”
Perlini didn’t just decommit, he took action, taking to Twitter to not only thank the Cabrini coaches for giving him the opportunity to play basketball but also announce his availability.
“I guess that’s why my tweet got a lot of buzz - it got 14,000 views that first day,” Perlini said. “It was insane. 18,700 people saw it totally.
“I was on vacation, and those first three days I was on the phone with coaches talking about my availability. I’m really fortunate that I announced it and people saw it.”
Perlini found himself in the spotlight of Cabrini’s closing, appearing on a segment on 3 CBS Philadelphia’s newscast, and he was also featured in an Inquirer story by Mike Jensen, and it all started with his Twitter post.
“I love the game – it’s my engine,” Perlini said. “I wasn’t looking to be a student. I wanted to be a student-athlete. Obviously, there’s a downside to social media, but that’s an upside for sure. My roommate that I was going to college with – he’s one of my best friends. We went to high school together. He was going to play soccer at Cabrini, and now he’s going to St. Joe’s to be a student, and there’s a lot of people that were going to play a sport, and they decided – I’m just going to go to school.
“Playing college basketball is huge, and when I had the opportunity to go to Cabrini, I was like – ‘Man, I’m going to take it and see what I can make of it’ because I want to coach eventually. On top of that, when that whole Cabrini situation happened – I can’t see myself without basketball. I’ve got to get myself out there and see if anyone will take me. If anyone will take me is kind of an understatement, it was kind of cool.”
The offers literally came pouring in for Perlini, who found what he believes is a perfect fit in Lebanon Valley.
“I talked to 12 colleges, and they all pretty much offered me,” he said. “I talked to a few junior colleges, but I wasn’t interested in that route because that was basically like Cabrini. The same with prep schools. I probably talked to in total junior college and prep schools four or five. It wasn’t the right move for me because I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be acclimated to a program.”
Perlini’s new list of schools included Lebanon Valley, Eastern, Delaware Valley, Misericordia, Marywood, Albright, Alvernia and Rosemont.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better situation than where I’m going now, so it was a blessing in disguise because if I had gone to Cabrini, it would have been a risk for me. If I get hurt, my career may have been done,” Perlini said.
Perlini was recognized at the May 22 signing day along with nine other Pennridge seniors. He was wearing Cabrini attire, never once imagining the path his life would take one short month later.
“I love to talk about my story – it’s unique,” he said.
Gannon Perlini – Lebanon Valley College (Basketball)
Major: Business Management
Final list of colleges: Lebanon Valley, Cabrini, Ithaca, Chestnut Hill, Delaware Valley, Eastern, Misericordia, Marywood, Albright, Alvernia, Rosemont
Reasons for choosing Lebanon Valley: “They had talked to me the first or second day I was available this summer, and I just really liked the vibe that I was getting from coach (Willie) Hope and coach (Brad) McAlester. They just are really great guys. I went up for a visit in early July on a Monday. The campus – there was no one on there, but I could just feel it was the right spot for me. I loved their arena. Their academics are really strong and that was huge too. It felt right. I can’t even describe the feeling.”
Coach Dean Behrens says: “Gannon Perlini was one of our guards this year who came off the bench. He did a tremendous job for us. One of the big reasons that we had 15 wins and made it to the playoffs was that Gannon was really a starter, but you can only play five guys at a time, so ultimately, Gannon really bought into his role coming off the bench. It didn’t bother him – he was such a team player. He gave us a tremendous punch on the offensive end for our team this season.
“He committed to Cabrini and went through a stressful time when Cabrini announced that it was closing in a year, but it all worked out great and had a happy ending.”
About Gannon:
Favorite food: Sushi or Surf & Turf
Favorite movie: The Goonies
Favorite TV show: Chicago PD
Favorite artist: Drake
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