Hall of Fame
Purnell 'Bam' Perry was born and raised in the city of Aiken, South Carolina. Perry graduated from South Aiken High School. He is the nephew of former professional football stars, Michael Dean and William "The Refrigerator" Perry who played for Clemson University and starred in the NFL. After having a late career at South Aiken High School playing basketball; he was selected to play at the University of South Carolina at Aiken.
Only attending just one semester, Perry decided to move on to Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina.
From that point, he began to excel in the basketball arena. Being 6-foot-5 and weighing
235-pounds, he became a premier player with an ambition of playing professionally. Playing basketball was his forte. At Voorhees, he became a two-time NAIA All-American and a two-time Player of the Year.
In 1995, the Basketball Times selected him as a Small College A-A Player. He was also selected as Street and Smith's Pre-Season Small College Player of the Year and the NAIA District 6 Player of the Year. Perry averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds. At that time, Voorhees made its first-ever appearance in the National Tournament. Perry bench pressed over 400-pounds, had explosive power to the basket, a two-foot jumper and his biggest asset was being the quickest. Purnell was All-EIAC 1st team for 3 consecutive years, EIAC MVP and a 3-time NAIA All-American (1993, 1994 & 1995).
