Tony Parker (basketball, born 1993) explained

Tony Parker
Position:Power forward / center
Height Ft:6
Height In:9
Weight Lb:260
Birth Date:18 September 1993
Birth Place:Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
College:UCLA (2012–2016)
Career Start:2017
Draft Year:2016
Years1:2017
Team1:Iowa Wolves
Years2:2018
Team2:Frayles de Guasave
Years3:2018–2019
Team3:Aguacateros de Michoacán
Highlights:
Career End:2019

Virgil Anthony Parker (born September 18, 1993)[1] is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins at both the center and power forward positions. He played for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League.

As a high school player in Georgia, Parker won four consecutive state championships and was named the top player in the state. He also earned national All-American honors. Parker joined UCLA in 2012 as part of the top recruiting class in the nation, and helped the school to three NCAA tournaments, including consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in 2014 and 2015. He became a starter in his junior year and finished his four-year college career ranked No. 6 in UCLA history in career games played. After graduating, he played in the G League before playing in Mexico.

Early life

Parker was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Virgil and Hazel Parker. His father played college basketball.[1] Growing up, Parker would tag along with his older brother, Adrian, and watch him play basketball at a local court. When Parker was five, his brother was arrested and went to prison for 20 years for armed robbery. While Adrian was away, Parker helped take care of his brother's son, Jayvion.[2]

By the seventh grade, Parker stood 6inchesft3inchesin (ftin) and weighed 300lb, and would be mistaken for a lineman. He attended Miller Grove High School in Lithonia, Georgia, and some doubted whether he could play basketball for them.[3] However, he led their team to four consecutive state titles (2009–2012), the first time a player in Georgia had started for four straight state champions since Dontonio Wingfield (1990–1993).[1] [3] With the help of a personal trainer, his strength and conditioning improved each season.[3] As a senior, Parker averaged 16.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game. He was named Mr. Georgia Basketball as the top player in the state, and was recognized nationally as a Parade, McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-American.[1] [4] [5]

As a senior, he was rated a four-star prospect, ranked No. 20 player in the nation by Scout.com, No. 26 by ESPN.com and No. 27 by Rivals.com. He was rated the No. 6 center in the country by Rivals, No. 7 by ESPN and No. 8 by Scout.[1] Parker chose to play college basketball at UCLA over Kansas, Duke, Ohio State, Memphis, and Georgia.[6] [7]

College career

Parker joined Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams in a UCLA recruiting class considered the best in the nation. The four all knew each other from competing in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Muhammad and Anderson were also McDonald's All-Americans.[8] Parker's former AAU coach with the Atlanta Celtics, Korey McCray, had joined UCLA the previous year as an assistant coach;[6] Adams had played for the Celtics too.[8]

Bothered by injuries and lack of conditioning, the 6feet, 275lb Parker did not play much as a freshman in 2012–13, averaging 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per game.[9] He was the team's only big body with an inside presence after Anthony Stover was dismissed from the team and Joshua Smith transferred mid-season. However, Coach Ben Howland rarely played Parker off the bench, relying instead on 6feet twins David and Travis Wear, who were primarily jump shooters as opposed to post players.[10] [11] [12] Parker became so unhappy he considered transferring.[13] He finished the season averaging a Pac-12 Conference-worst 10.4 fouls per 40 minutes,[12] and the Bruins had the worst rebounding margin in the conference.

During the offseason, UCLA replaced Howland with Steve Alford.[9] Parker lost 20-, and began 2013–14 in better shape than in his first year.[14] On January 23, 2014, he scored a then-career-high 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting in a 91–74 win over Stanford.[15] His averages improved in his sophomore year to 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.[16] He finally became a starter in 2014–15,[10] boosting his performance to 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was the final player remaining from the highly touted 2012 recruiting class—the other three had moved on to the National Basketball Association (NBA).[17] Parker showed improvement on offense with his post moves, becoming the team's primary inside threat.[18] He ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (54.3).[1] He was also more focused on defense, but was still prone to foul trouble.[19] Alford called him the team's most important player. When Parker missed the road trip to the Oregon schools, UCLA went 0–2 and lost by a combined 29 points. He returned against Utah, when the Bruins earned their best win of the season as Parker's inside play balanced their offense that had become overly dependent on their perimeter players.[20] On March 21, 2015, in the 2015 NCAA tournament, Parker scored a career-high 28 points and added 12 rebounds in a 92–75 win over UAB, helping the Bruins advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.[21]

Parker returned as the Bruins' lone senior in 2015–16,[22] but the team did not advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career.[1] With Kevon Looney having left for the NBA, Parker was moved to forward and Thomas Welsh entered the starting lineup at center.[23] [24] Parker was named to the initial watch list of twenty candidates for the Karl Malone Award, given annually to the top power forward in Division I men's basketball.[25] [26] In the season opener, he scored 19 points and established career highs of 19 rebounds, nine offensive rebounds, and four assists in an 84–81 loss to Monmouth.[26] He became the first Bruin to have double-doubles in the first three games of a season since Bill Walton recorded nine consecutive to start 1973–74.[27] The Bruins began the season 9–4 with Parker logging seven double-doubles in those 13 games. However, he had just two double-doubles in the final 19 games, when UCLA lost 13 times to finish with a 15–17 record. After the Bruins struggled on defense while starting 3–5 in their conference schedule, Alford believed their big front court was "slow" and had Jonah Bolden start against Washington State in place of Parker,[28] who was averaging 13.5 points and 9.6 rebounds as a starter.[29] While Bolden was 1inches taller than Parker, he was also lighter.[30] The switch helped UCLA win 83–50 for their largest margin of victory of the season; Parker scored 11 points in 18 minutes, which was 10 minutes below his average.[31] After five games as a reserve, Parker returned to the starting lineup in place of Welsh, who had presented the coaches with the idea.[32] The Bruins played their best game in weeks, winning 77–53 over Colorado,[32] but they lost their final five games of the season.[29] Parker finished the season with averages of 12.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game. He ranked eighth in the Pac-12 in rebounding, first in offensive rebounds per game (3.3), and ninth in field goal percentage (53.9). He ended his four-year career having played 136 games, which ranked sixth in UCLA history.[1]

Professional career

Parker worked out for the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the 2016 NBA draft. However, most mock drafts did not list him, and he went undrafted.[33] He sat out the 2016–17 season with an injury.[34] [35]

In 2017, Parker participated in the NBA G League's annual Player Invitational to earn a spot in the league's upcoming draft.[36] [37] He was drafted in the second round of the 2017 draft with the 27th overall pick by the Iowa Wolves.[38] [39] He played seven games and averaged 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds before being waived on December 27.[40] He later played in Mexico with Frayles de Guasave of the CIBACOPA for the 2018 season,[41] and joined Aguacateros de Michoacán in the LNBP for 2018–19.[42]

Career statistics

College statistics|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2012–13| style="text-align:left;"| UCLA| 33 || 0 || 6.3 || .541 || — || .438 || 1.2 || .0 || .1 || .3 || 2.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14| style="text-align:left;"| UCLA| 37 || 9 || 17.2 || .602 || — || .468 || 4.4 || .1 || .4 || .6 || 6.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15| style="text-align:left;"| UCLA| 34 || 33 || 24.6 || .543 || — || .575 || 6.7 || .4 || .6 || .9 || 11.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16| style="text-align:left;"| UCLA| 32 || 27 || 25.1 || .539 || — || .493 || 8.2 || .7 || .6 || 1.0 || 12.6|-class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career| 136 || 69 || 18.3 || .555 || — || .516 || 5.1 || .3 || .4 || .7 || 8.3

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tony Parker Biography. UCLABruins.com. March 14, 2015.
  2. News: Wang. Jack. UCLA’s Tony Parker feeling right at home in Memphis. March 26, 2014. Los Angeles Daily News. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125224/http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20140326/uclas-tony-parker-feeling-right-at-home-in-memphis. April 2, 2015. live.
  3. News: Holcomb. Todd. Boys Player of the Year: Tony Parker proves his point. March 23, 2012. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. https://web.archive.org/web/20120714074149/http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-high-school-sports/2012/03/23/boys-player-of-the-year-tony-parker-proves-his-point/. July 14, 2012 .
  4. News: Ching. David. Tony Parker headed to UCLA Bruins. April 24, 2012. ESPN.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402205153/http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/story/_/id/7847046/tony-parker-commit-moves-ucla-bruins-head-class. April 2, 2015. live.
  5. News: Jordan. Jason. Tony Parker's inner circle. March 23, 2012. ESPN.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130643/http://espn.go.com/high-school/boys-basketball/story/_/id/7717492/tony-parker-recruiting-roundtable. April 2, 2015. live.
  6. News: Halley. Jim. UCLA adds Miller Grove's Tony Parker. April 25, 2012. USA Today. https://web.archive.org/web/20120625140052/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2012/04/ucla-adds-miller-groves-tony-parker/1. June 25, 2012. live.
  7. News: Zagoria. Adam. Tony Parker Likely to Announce at McDonald's Game. February 27, 2012. zagsblog.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403031255/http://zagsblog.com/recruiting/tony-parker-likely-to-announce-at-mcdonalds-game/. April 3, 2015. live.
  8. News: Holmes. Baxter. Unassuming Bruins guard Jordan Adams is first among equals. December 8, 2012. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20121211113624/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/08/sports/la-sp-1208-ucla-jordan-adams-20121208. December 11, 2012. live.
  9. News: Medcalf. Myron. Alford: Tony Parker 'in shape,' confident. October 7, 2013. ESPN.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130823/http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/88847/alford-tony-parker-in-shape-confident. April 2, 2015. live.
  10. News: Wang. Jack. For UCLA to save its season, Tony Parker must blossom. January 13, 2015. Los Angeles Daily News. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402140806/http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150113/for-ucla-to-save-its-season-tony-parker-must-blossom. April 2, 2015. live.
  11. News: Foster. Chris. UCLA's Tony Parker has big potential. January 23, 2013. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402204700/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/23/sports/la-sp-ucla-tony-parker-20130124. April 2, 2015. live.
  12. News: Kartje. Ryan. Same story? Or a new beginning for Tony Parker?. January 25, 2014. Orange County Register. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402162609/http://www.ocregister.com/ucla/story-598891-tony-angeles.html. April 2, 2015. live.
  13. News: Despite slow start, UCLA sees big things for banged-up Tony Parker. January 10, 2013. Sporting News. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122049/http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2013-01-10/despite-slow-start-ucla-sees-big-things-for-banged-up-tony-parker. April 2, 2015. live.
  14. News: Payne. Terrence. UCLA’s Tony Parker is down 20-25 pounds says Steve Alford. October 7, 2013. NBCSports.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20150406175804/http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/07/uclas-tony-parker-down-20-25-pounds-says-steve-alford/. April 6, 2015. live.
  15. News: Eisenberg. Jeff. Tony Parker’s inspired performance propels UCLA to a rout of Stanford. January 24, 2014. Yahoo! Sports. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402105610/http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/tony-parker-inspired-performance-propels-ucla-rout-stanford-082528994--ncaab.html. April 2, 2015. live.
  16. News: Rothstein. Jon. Ten players who must be productive this summer to help their teams. July 10, 2014. CBSSports.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224027/http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24614257/these-10-must-have-productive-summers-to-help-their-teams-in-2014-15. September 23, 2015. live.
  17. News: Miller. Jeff. Tony Parker must be big man on campus for UCLA basketball. March 4, 2015. Orange County Register. https://web.archive.org/web/20150308055856/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/parker-653128-bruins-ucla.html?page=2. March 8, 2015. live.
  18. News: Wang. Jack. Can UCLA’s Tony Parker build on career game as Gonzaga looms?. March 24, 2015. Los Angeles Daily News. https://web.archive.org/web/20150703110354/http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150324/can-uclas-tony-parker-build-on-career-game-as-gonzaga-looms. July 3, 2015. live.
  19. News: Kartje. Ryan. UCLA vs. SMU: Who has the edge?. March 18, 2015. Orange County Register. https://web.archive.org/web/20150321173513/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/smu-654765-ucla-edge.html. March 21, 2015. live.
  20. News: Helfand. Zach. Tony Parker helps Bruins lighten up, but has serious impact on game. March 18, 2015. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20150319205430/http://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-smu-parker-20150319-story.html. March 19, 2015. live.
  21. News: Wang. Jack. UCLA powers past UAB to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. March 21, 2015. Los Angeles Daily News. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170307/http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150321/ucla-powers-past-uab-to-ncaa-tournament-sweet-16. April 2, 2015. live.
  22. News: Wang. Jack. UCLA needs center Tony Parker to help answer big questions. October 15, 2015. Los Angeles Daily News. https://web.archive.org/web/20151020022949/http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151015/ucla-needs-center-tony-parker-to-help-answer-big-questions. October 20, 2015. live.
  23. News: Kaufmann. Joey. UCLA basketball preview: It's Thomas Welsh's turn to be center of attention. November 12, 2015. The Orange County Register. https://web.archive.org/web/20151116153844/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/welsh-691699-miller-high.html. November 16, 2015. live.
  24. News: Kaufman. Joey. UCLA basketball: Freshman guard Aaron Holiday proves a quick study. November 18, 2015. The Orange County Register. https://web.archive.org/web/20151211012031/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/alford-692724-guard-holiday.html. December 11, 2015. live.
  25. Web site: Twenty Candidates Announced for 2016 Karl Malone Award. October 13, 2015. National Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. https://web.archive.org/web/20151118062901/http://www.hoophall.com/news/2015/10/13/twenty-candidates-announced-for-2016-karl-malone-award.html. November 18, 2015. live.
  26. Web site: Cal Poly Mustangs (0-1) at UCLA Bruins (0-1). November 13, 2015. UCLA Athletic Communications. https://web.archive.org/web/20151117121022/http://www.uclabruins.com/pdf9/4109706.pdf. November 17, 2015. live.
  27. News: UCLA holds on to beat UNLV, 77-75. November 23, 2015. Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. https://web.archive.org/web/20151124212343/http://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-unlv-20151124-story.html. November 24, 2015. live.
  28. News: Shultz. Alex. UCLA's juggled lineup results in big win over Washington State. January 30, 2016. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20160201044010/http://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-washington-state-20160131-story.html. February 1, 2016. live.
  29. News: Li. Derek. Tony Parker looks toward future after frustrating senior season. March 15, 2016. The Daily Bruin. https://web.archive.org/web/20160610140428/http://dailybruin.com/2016/03/15/tony-parker-looks-toward-future-after-frustrating-senior-season/. June 10, 2016. live.
  30. News: Wang. Jack. UCLA benches Tony Parker against WSU, starts Jonah Bolden. January 30, 2016. Inside UCLA. https://web.archive.org/web/20160204173815/http://www.insidesocal.com/ucla/2016/01/30/ucla-benches-tony-parker-against-wsu-starts-jonah-bolden/. February 4, 2016. live.
  31. News: Wang. Jack. UCLA’s lineup changes lead to 83-50 win over Washington State. January 30, 2016. Los Angeles Daily News. https://web.archive.org/web/20160203235153/http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20160130/uclas-lineup-changes-lead-to-83-50-win-over-washington-state. February 3, 2016. live.
  32. News: Helfand. Zach. Tony Parker returns to UCLA's starting lineup and the result is positive. February 21, 2016. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20160813015502/http://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-basketball-20160222-story.html. August 13, 2016. live.
  33. News: Bolch. Ben. Clippers have several holes that could be filled with draft picks. June 20, 2016. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20160622213408/http://www.latimes.com/sports/nba/la-sp-clippers-draft-20160620-snap-story.html. June 22, 2016. live.
  34. Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. PITourney. 921800967187812353. October 21, 2017. Congrats to Tony Parker (2016 PIT, UCLA) taken in G-League Draft by Minnesota affiliate Iowa Wolves. Rookie missed last season with injury.. https://web.archive.org/web/20171024073217/https:/twitter.com/PITourney/status/921800967187812353. October 24, 2017. live.
  35. Scotto. Michael. MikeAScotto. 916339119982370821. October 6, 2017. Source: Former McDonald's All-American and UCLA PF/C Tony Parker entered the G-League draft. He's now healthy after missing all last season.. https://web.archive.org/web/20171024073423/https:/twitter.com/MikeAScotto/status/916339119982370821. October 24, 2017. live.
  36. Web site: Lester. Justin. Social Roundup: NBA G League Player Invitational in Chicago. August 13, 2017. gleague.nba.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904091721/http://gleague.nba.com/news/social-roundup-nba-g-league-player-invitational-chicago/. September 4, 2017. live.
  37. 2017 NBA G League Player Invitational: Box Scores & Testing Results. August 14, 2017. NBA G League. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904092415/http://gleague.nba.com/news/2017-nba-g-league-player-invitational-results/. September 4, 2017. live.
  38. Wolves Announce 2017 Training Camp Roster. October 23, 2017. Iowa Wolves. https://web.archive.org/web/20171024063308/http://iowa.gleague.nba.com/news/wolves-announce-2017-training-camp-roster/. October 24, 2017. live.
  39. 2017 NBA G League Draft Board. October 21, 2017. NBA G League. https://web.archive.org/web/20171022034125/http://gleague.nba.com/news/2017-nba-g-league-draft-board/. October 22, 2017. live.
  40. News: Wolves acquire Zeek Woodley, waive Tony Parker. December 27, 2017. West Des Moines Guide.
  41. News: Valenzuela. Mauricio. Tony Parker llega a Frayles. March 23, 2018. Debate. Spanish. https://web.archive.org/web/20180410181711/https://www.debate.com.mx/guasave/Tony-Parker-llega-a-Frayles-20180323-0061.html. April 10, 2018. live.
  42. News: Lara. Josimar. Habrá nuevos Aguacateros para la temporada 2018-2019. September 2, 2018. MiMorelia.com. Spanish. October 29, 2018.

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