Madison Prep’s Daniels doesn’t let hemophilia keep him from hooping
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) — By living in this world, countless challenges are thrown our way. But Madison Prep junior, Percy Daniels, isn’t letting anything hold him back.
Diagnosed with Type A hemophilia at birth, Madison Prep forward Percy Daniels, has been battling every day of his life. He receives up to two injections a week that help clot his blood if he were to get a bad cut or scratch.
“He has every reason not to play,” Madison Prep head coach Jeff Jones said. “He is a leader on the court, and he is a dominant player when he’s out there.”
Although he plays basketball, Daniels always wanted to play football. Being the height that he is, he most likely would have been a force on the gridiron. But when he would play pickup football with his friends, he would get a cut or a scrape and he would have to go to the hospital because the bleeding would not stop.
When he realized he could not pursue football, his dad showed him another sport.
“My dad introduced me to the game of basketball,” Daniels said. “After that, I fell in love with the game.”
Last season, Daniels earned second-team all-state honors as the Chargers advanced to the Class 3A basketball state semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Wossman High School.
Maintaining a 3.75 GPA, Daniels is an honor student and has multiple basketball scholarship offers.
“He really is a smart kid,” Jones said. “He knows how to play the game, and it really is amazing that someone with hemophilia can play a contact sport like basketball.”
Louisiana’s Finest 💛💜🌊 pic.twitter.com/PE7PEBiFFo
— Percy Daniels (@percydaniels23) August 11, 2020
The work he has put in has paid off. Along with his all-state honors, Daniels was also voted District 7-3A MVP and earned All-Metro honors averaging 14.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 7.2 blocks.
The Chargers have had skilled big men come through the program before. Former LSU player Jarell Martin and current LSU Tiger Josh Leblanc, who transferred from Georgetown University, are a couple of standouts to put on the Madison Prep uniform.
“Percy is more of a traditional five,” Jones said. “He is still working on some parts of his game, but he is a true post player. He reminds me of Karl-Anthony Towns by the way he plays.”
As Daniels continues to draw interest from college programs, Madison Prep will be preparing for a season like none other. Before last season, the Chargers had won four straight state titles and five out of the previous eight.
“The goal is to get back on track and win another championship,” Daniels said. “Freshman year was the first time I won a championship, and I want that feeling back.”
There is no doubt this season will be a different one, different than any of these athletes and coaches have experienced. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the season will be in question until tipoff rolls around. But until then, Daniels will be preparing to lead the Chargers back to the title game.
