By Jeff Ermann

Special to EerSports.com

Junior Perry Henry of South Charleston (W.V.) High School is in no rush to choose a college from among the many pursuing him.

"No sir. Right now I'm just enjoying listening and reading [recruiting letters]. When I'm a senior I'll look and see who was there from the beginning and who's been showing the most love. I just want to enjoy high school right now, and just want to be a kid," Henry told EerSports.com.

For Henry, the latter part of that statement has been easier said than done.

Henry's father left Henry's mother and his four siblings when he was a child, and it's been an uphill struggle ever since, one that recently became harder with the imprisonment of his older brother for allegedly shooting a man and the death of his grandmother on his mother's side. Still, you won't catch him complaining. He's looking ahead to the future, one he hopes will include NBA paychecks that help him reward those who've helped him through what feel like decades of grappling to get by day-to-day.

"I started out negative. I went through so much as a young child and I'm only 16, but a lot of people haven't ever seen the things I've seen. It's negative but it's motivation for me to work harder and give my family and friends the things they've dreamed about," said Henry, a 6-foot-3 guard who has a verbal scholarship offer from West Virginia.

"I love my life because it's going to a better place. I won't never complain. I went from negative to positive and I just remember where I came from."

Henry's mother, Lora Stephens, works two jobs as a waitress and caregiver. For years she's resisted overtures from family friends offering to take in Perry, her pride being the main reason, her son said. But this fall, she finally relented. Her mother passed away, and she was trying to work both jobs while shuttling her kids from Kanawha City to games, practices and social outings in addition to visiting her eldest son in jail. Plus, she felt the rough environs of the neighborhood weren't a positive influence on Perry. So she let him move in with the family of his girlfriend, Jada Smith.

"My mom," he said, "she don't want me to live in that environment any more.

"She's the only parent I have. I've never had a father figure. My mother is my father. On father's day, I tell her happy father's day. On mother's day, I tell her happy mother's day," said Henry, who averaged 15.3 points per game as a sophomore and was named second-team all-state.

"My grandmother -- my mom's mom -- just passed away September 17th at 7:37 p.m. from lung cancer. That's tough because she was the rock of the family," he continued. "When she passed away, everybody moved into her house, including my brother. Everybody looks up to him, but if he did do it, everybody has to face the consequences. But it hurts because my two little sisters looked up to him. It's tough for them to see that ... I can't say I had a childhood because I had to grow up fast. I always had to be the older brother and dad for myself and my sisters."

Henry has watched his mother scrap to support her family all of these years while never complaining -- "she makes miracles every Christmas, every Thanksgiving and every birthday," he said --  a firtshand lesson in toughness and work ethic that's apparent in his style of play on the court and his hard work off of it. He's a battler, a 185-pounder who as a sophomore was the leading rebounder for a team that didn't lose until the final game of the season. Rebounding, of course, is about heart, toughness and desire just as much as it is size and athleticism.

"He's tough. He plays with fire. He plays hard and doesn't like to lose," South Charleston coach Bob Dawson said of Henry, who is also expected to be one of the top players on the school's footbal team this fall.

"Hustling, putting it all out there and giving all I got," Henry said when asked about his game. "That's one of my mottos: no matter who you are, I won't let you out-hustle me. I play hard every minute. I just leave it out there and get dirty."

And in the classroom he's got a 3.0-plus GPA.

"I don't want to end up like my brother," he said. "I just praise God because he keeps blessing me. I'm thankful right now just to be talking to you and to have all of these college coaches calling me, and because if I just get my ACT score, I won't have to pay for college and I'll be able to get my education for free.

"That's why I keep working hard every day to get to the pros. That's my main thing, get my mom a nice home and a car that will work. Let her sit down and relax and enjoy life. Right now, she can't do that. She's been working ever since I can remember."

There are quite a few schools showing interest in Henry entering what should be a breakout junior season: WVU, Kansas, Xavier, Tennessee, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Marquette, Cleveland State, Marshall, Dayton, Toledo, Detroit, Akron and Ohio have all been in contact. Most of the mid-majors have already verbally offered, along with West Virginia.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins flew in to watch Henry and his team a few times last season and while Henry was in Morgantown this summer for the Jamfest AAU tournament, he toured the campus with assistant coach Larry Harrison. Harrison told Henry he had a scholarship offer, and little while later coach Bob Huggins called him to chat and confirm the offer, Henry said.

"They need a combo guard and they like the way I play hard every second," he said. "And the fans and everything, growing up in Charleston, West Virginia, I would get so much love from the fans and my family and fans would get to come and support me."

He's received plenty of support from the community at and around South Charleston, where he's one of the more popular students you'll come across.

"For him to go through the things that he's gone through and be the quality kid that he is ... Let's put it this way: I have a two-month old son, and I hope he grows up to be that kind of quality person," said South Charleston athletic director Jason Redman.

Marshall has been recruiting Henry the longest, verbally offering after his freshman year. Marshall's early interest and location could make the Thundering Herd a contender even if his recruitment takes on a high-major theme.

"I know he likes the coaches at Marshall a lot. They've been very good to him," Dawson said.

Whichever coaching staff ends up snagging Henry's signature will likely have done a good job forging a strong, father-figure type of personal relationship with him, something he's lacked all of his life.

"He left when I was a baby. He left all of these people behind and went on with his life, but there's a reason for everything. I'm not mad at him because even though I don't have a father figure right now, when I have kids I'll be the father that I never had and give them everything I never got," he said. "One day he'll have to answer me.

"And if he doesn't, I'll keep on moving."