By John Beisser, Feature Writer 

As the daughter of a professional basketball standout who played 14 years in the WNBA, across Europe and in Australia, Rutgers women’s basketball incoming freshman Zachara Perkins possesses a worldliness atypical of most individuals on the cusp of their first year as a college student. 

Perkins’ mother, South Jersey native DeMya Walker-Wheatfall played for six different franchises in the WNBA, spending the bulk of her career with the Sacramento Monarchs. Prior to her pro career, Walker-Wheatfall was a high school All-American at Rancocas High School before going on to star at the University of Virginia.  

En route to helping lead the Monarchs to the 2005 WNBA Championship, Walker-Wheatfall didn’t know she was pregnant. 

“I took 13 charges in the finals pregnant with her, so I figure that is why she is so tough,” Walker-Wheatfall told nj.com last winter. “I took so many charges during that series. I hit the floor so many times and I’m telling you that’s why my kid is so tough.” 

Eight weeks after birth, Perkins’ global and national travels began. As an infant, Perkins spent gamedays in a car seat placed on the Monarchs bench and during games was rocked by team managers while her mother competed. Rookies were routinely tasked with getting the stroller, diaper bag or babysitting while Walker-Wheatfall watched film. 

Before the age of eight, Perkins had already lived in six different countries around the globe and five different states in America. In the U.S., Perkins’ childhood included residences in Texas, California, Connecticut, Washington and New York. In the WNBA offseason, Perkins was with her mother as she played professionally overseas. She learned how to walk in Russia and how to swim in China. She sharpened her swimming skills while in Australia. Her addresses also included stays in Poland and Turkey.  

Walker-Wheatfall retired from professional basketball when Perkins was eight years old in 2012. It was at this time that she and her daughter settled down in Humble, Texas, a city located in the Houston metropolitan area where, after coaching high school and AAU basketball, Walker-Wheatfall is now a third-grade English teacher. 

“As far as friendships, no, I’m no longer in touch with any of my friends or classmates from those early traveling years but I do have a lot of Aunts,” Perkins said. Adding with a laugh that “These women are not truly Aunts that I’m related to but women I consider, and refer to, as Aunts, mainly former teammates of my mom or staff members from the team’s she played for. I am very fortunate to have all of them in my life still to this day.” 

Perkins recalls that one of her fondest memories is from their time in Turkey when all of her mother’s teammates came to watch her sing in a talent show. 

“When I was younger, I just thought of all that was normal until I got older and I started telling people and they were like, ‘what?’” Perkins said. “I’d say my upbringing, when I was really young was a bit bittersweet, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have a stepdad, Brandon Wheatfall, but do maintain a relationship with my birth father, Ben Perkins.”  

Her biological father, Ben Perkins, also played hoops at Providence and McNeese St. from 1997-2002.  

“My first words ever spoken I’m told took place in Russia,” Perkins added. “Usually when we went to a new country, I would have a translator with me. So, in school I would have a translator walk around with me. Because of the way the seasons are set, we’d live in the U.S. for half the year, then move to a foreign country wherever my mom’s career took her. We would go back and forth. I stopped traveling around second grade.” 

As she progressed through middle school and into high school, Perkins’ basketball skillset and instincts grew exponentially as she developed into a 6-foot-3 multidimensional player. Perkins spent her first two high school seasons at St. Pius X High School where she averaged 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in 21 games as a freshman. In 32 games as a sophomore, she averaged 23.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.2 blocks. 

As a junior, Perkins moved home and played for Summer Creek High School in Humble where she went on to average 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, earning All-State honors in the 6A Region, which is Texas’ largest. The Bulldogs went 35-4 and were District Champions, while she was also selected as the Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Academic Team. 

As a senior in 2023-24, Perkins tallied 17.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in leading Summer Creek to a 35-5 record and No. 7 ranking in the state. She capped off both her junior and senior years by being named to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) All-State and All-Region teams. 

Coming out of high school Perkins had multiple offers and interest from top programs around the country, but Rutgers immediately stood out.  

“I chose Rutgers because as soon as I stepped on campus, it instantly felt like family," Perkins said. "It felt like Coach Coquese Washington and the rest of the staff really wanted me to be there, and it wasn't just fake love. The team was amazing and really nice. Overall, it just felt like the place to be”. 

In addition to the family atmosphere and Rutgers’ sterling academic reputation (her goal is to one day become a veterinarian), Perkins said that at RU, “I found a coach who believes in me and has a plan for how to best utilize me,” she added. “Coach Coquese and her staff actually cut up highlights and showed me exactly how I would be used on the court. Rutgers was the only staff who took the time to spell that out for me specifically. Coach takes a sincere interest and genuinely cares for each of her players on and off the floor. I am so fortunate to be coached by her.” 

"Zachara is a very talented, versatile forward who brings a variety of skills to the table,” said Washington. “She is a serious competitor with a strong work ethic. She is also a kind, considerate young woman who will be a great teammate and have a positive impact on our culture. It's exciting to imagine all the ways in which Zachara will help move this program forward."  

With Perkins and her new Scarlet Knight teammates having recently concluded their two-month summer training program, she continues to acclimate herself to life at Rutgers and to her mother’s home state. Asked the biggest difference between New Jersey and Houston, Perkins quickly replied “the weather.”  

In an interview that took place on what was the 31st day of the summer the Garden State topped the 90-degree mark, Perkins said with a straight face, “Apparently there’s been a heat wave going on right now here in New Jersey. At least that’s what all my teammates are saying.” 

Huh? 

“Oh, when we get a 98-degree day like today,” Perkins said in early August. “Down in Houston we go, ‘ahh, finally some relief.’ A typical summer day in Houston is like 110 degrees. And the humidity? Y’all think you’ve got humidity here? It’s nothing compared to Houston.” 

While she’s only experienced steamy temperatures to this point since her Rutgers arrival, Perkins and her Rutgers teammates will be looking to heat things up at Jersey Mike’s Arena throughout the fall/winter of the 2024-25 season.  

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A recipient of seven NJ Press Association Awards for writing excellence, John Beisser ('86) served as Assistant Director in the Rutgers University Athletic Communications Office from 1991-2006, where he primarily handled sports information/media relations duties for the Scarlet Knight football and men's basketball programs. In this role, he served as managing editor for nine publications that received either National or Regional citations from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). While an undergraduate at RU, Beisser was sports director of WRSU-FM and a sportswriter/columnist for The Daily Targum. From 2007-2019, Beisser served as Assistant Athletic Director/Sports Media Relations at Wagner College, where he was the recipient of the 2019 Met Basketball Writers Association "Good Guy" Award. Beisser resides in Piscataway with his wife Aileen (RC '95,) a four-year Scarlet Knight women's lacrosse letterwinner, and their 15-year old daughter Riley.