Portland guard Jack Perry has announced his intention to pursue a medical redshirt and return to the Pilots for the upcoming 2022-23 basketball season. Perry averaged 26.2 minutes per game and helped Portland to a 5-1 start before suffering a season-ending knee injury versus Portland State on November 23. The Melbourne, Australia native discussed his decision to return and a variety of other topics in a Portland Pilots Podcast interview with Jason Swygard.

"It sounds outrageous for me to say out loud, but I'm coming back for a sixth year in college," Perry said. "I had a lot to think about postseason and what I wanted to do, but I felt it was in my best interest and the team's best interest to come back and give it another go."

Perry followed head coach Shantay Legans to The Bluff from Eastern Washington after leading the Eagles to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Perry played four seasons under Legans with the Eagles with 113 appearances and 69 games started. He took advantage of the extra year granted due to COVID and helped spur Portland's five-game winning streak before his injury.

With Perry's return, Legans adds yet another proven and experienced player to the 2022-23 roster. The Pilots now will return the top seven scorers from the 19-win team that Legans put together for his first year on The Bluff. Portland recorded the first postseason win at the NCAA level and matched the fourth-most wins in a season since joining the Division I ranks in 1958. Other highlights included a road win against NCAA Tournament participant San Francisco, a 7-7 West Coast Conference record, and a six-game win streak late in the season.

A talented crop of newcomers also join the roster in transfers Wyatt Lowell, Joey St. Pierre and Vukasin Masic, along with incoming freshmen Bol Dengdit and Juan Sebastian Gorosito.

JACK PERRY PODCAST

• 0:35-1:10: Deciding to return for an extra year at UP (medical redshirt)
• 1:30-2:00: Rehab process and return to play plans
• 2:25-3:10: Discussing his season-ending injury and how he stayed engaged with the team
• 4:25-5:30: How injury allowed him to take on more of a coaching role
• 6:20-7:25: How the team's success and returning core impacted his decision to return
• 8:00-8:25: How the roster's experience will help newcomer transitions
• 8:55-9:45: Describing team chemistry, cohesion and 'chippyness' that led to strong finish
• 10:05-10:35: On UP Basketball history and importance of appreciating program's progress
• 11:20-12:00: Coaching staff impact on creating competitive environment
• 12:30-13:05: Impact of summer workouts for the program
• 13:35-14:15: Discussing professional basketball in Australia and professional opportunities
• 14:35-15:10: Remembering PK80 as a freshman and looking ahead to Phil Knight Invitational
• 15:40-16:52: How Portland stacks up in the WCC and impact of roster depth
• 17:05-17:45: Personal focus and goals for next season
• 18:00-18:20: Post-Graduate areas of focus
• 18:25-18:55: Why the haircut?