Rockland’s Permann is short in stature but huge in heart

ROCKLAND — It is perfectly natural for sports spectators to form expectations solely on aesthetics.

Basketball fans, in particular, might watch the opposing team warm up and decide which players pose the greatest threat based on size. However, as Muggsy Bogues, Spud Webb, Nate Robinson and the like have shown over the years, basing assessment of basketball abilities purely on height can be a dangerous game.

The Rockland Bulldogs have their own version of a player whose impact is far greater than his height: 5-foot-5 Zach Permann.

“He’s 5-foot-5, but he’s got a 7-foot-3-inch heart inside of him. He’s just a competitor,” head coach Shae Neal said of Permann. “It doesn’t matter who steps on the floor — your height, your weight, your quickness, whatever it is — he says, ‘I’m going to dawg down and I’m going to defend you, I’m going to work hard.'”

Permann is a linchpin in what Rockland does on both ends of the court. And despite often being the shortest player on the court, he has no problem sticking his nose in the painted area and battling for every loose ball.

He proved that Saturday, at Sho-Ban High School, when he grabbed five rebounds, several of which required he go above the Chiefs’ 6-foot-6 center Maddox Edmo-Mcarther to get.

Permann finished that 83-44 win with seven points to go with those five boards, and was a disruptor on defense as well, swiping eight steals.

His scrappiness, Neal said, has a lot to do with his being a “great teammate.” He goes the extra mile in everything he does because he doesn’t want to let his team down.

Neal offered anecdotal evidence of that, saying that last year, while the Bulldogs were battling injuries, the coach told his then-sophomore that the team needed him to be “the big man.”

“He kinda gave me the Lebron James flex, and said, ‘I got you, coach,'” Neal recalled.

A First-Team All-State performer on the football field, and East Idaho Sports 8-man football Player of the Year, Permann has helped guide Rockland (14-2, 6-0) to a 10-game winning streak and the top of the 1A Rocky Mountain Conference standings table.

That spot will be on the line this week, when the Bulldogs welcome the Watersprings Warriors (14-1, 6-0) to Rockland on Thursday for a showdown with the conference championship potentially hanging in the balance.