Newspaper Page Text
14
The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, December 07, 2016
Sports,^
With
Walter Moore
Catching Up With Kevin Parker
Tliis week’s fea
ture is with former Savan
nah High and Armstrong
State basketball standout
Kevin Parker.
These days, Park
er is married and resides in
Warner Robins, Georgia. He
is employed at Lowe Toyo
ta as a veteran sales profes
sional.
Parker was bom
in Wichita Falls, Texas but
moved to Savannah as a
youth. “My father, Kevin
D. Parker, was stationed at
Sheppard Air Force Base.
After he and my mother,
Phyllis Parker, gave birth to
my sister, Phyllicia Parker,
we moved to my father’s
home state of Maryland.
Shortly after my parents
divorced, my mother, my
sister and I moved to Sa
vannah, my mother’s home
town.”
He adds that the
family lived in Cann Park on
the west side of Savannah
but also spent many days
at his grandparents home in
Liberty City.
Parker said he got
introduced to sports at an
early age and that his grand
father, Sidney Parker, who
was inducted into the Cen
tral State University Hall of
Fame, was one of his inspi
rations.
“The Washington
Redskins along with the
Chicago Bears scouted him
but ultimately didn’t sign
him, primarily because of
racism and segregation at
the time. My grandfather’s
success in sports ultimate
ly led to my father playing
just about every major sport.
I’ve just continued the path
my family had set,” he said.
Parker attended
Savannah High and was a
member of the Blue Jackets
basketball squad as a point
guard. He helped lead the
team to two state tournament
berths. As a senior, SHS
won the Region 3-AAAAA
title and finished the season
with a 21-7 record. Parker
was named to the Savannah
Morning News All Coastal
Empire Team after averag
ing 10 points, 6 assists and
3 steals a game. In the class
room, he carried a 3.5 grade
point average and made a
1090 on the SAT. He also
took some AP classes at Sa
vannah State University.
His play on the
court also drew college re
cruiters. “I was recruited
by at least 10 schools. My
top three were The Citadel,
Armstrong Atlantic State
University, and Valdosta
State University. I formal
ly visited all three schools.
I chose Armstrong Atlan
tic State University to stay
close to my mother and sis
ter.”
Parker, who ma
jored in information tech
nology at Armstrong, played
on two outstanding teams
his freshman and sopho
more seasons. The 2005-06
team went 23-8 while the
2006-07 squad posted a 21 -9
mark. Both squads partici
pated in the NCAA Division
II South Atlantic Regionals.
The 5-10 Park
er averaged 3.7 points as a
freshman and 5.2 points as
a sophomore. His best game
came during his second year
where he had 15 points and
six assists in a loss to Florida
Southern.
After his sopho
more season, Parker made
the decision to walk away
from basketball as well as
Armstrong. “I lost focus of
my goals there. I felt mis
treated on and off the court
and consequently lost all fo
cus.”
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He went on to add,
“I was lost after my second
year playing at AASU. I
tried to pursue semi pro but
it didn’t work out. Basket
ball began to feel like a job.
I started seeing the politics
involved and just moved on.
I eventually left Savannah to
get a fresh start.”
Parker eventually
ended up in middle Georgia,
where he has called home
for the past seven years.
He states that he met his wife
(Courtney Robinson Park
er), two weeks after moving
to Warner Robins, through a
mutual friend. “She instant
ly caught my eye and mind
after we argued about the
end of a NBA playoff game
during our very first conver
sation,” he stated. Parker
went on the say that “Court
ney played high school bas
ketball and softball and also
played softball at Fort Val
ley State University. We met
in the spring of 2009. We
were married in Valdosta on
October 18, 2014.”
Although he left
Savannah with a bad taste in
his mouth, he still keeps up
with former teammates.
“I keep in touch
with three teammates in par
ticular. Casey Mitchell and
I talk and play ball together
from time to time. I see Mi
chael Wingster every time I
visit home. Marlon Bussey
and I work together as sales
professionals at Lowe Toyo
ta of Warner Robins.”
Parker states the
most rewarding thing about
his job is the appreciation of
a customer. “A lot of con
sumers despise sales profes
sionals of any category. So
when a customer genuinely
appreciates my customer
service it makes my day.
Especially, because vehicle
sales professionals are pre
dominantly frowned upon.”
His father is a pilot
captain for United Airlines
and has been flying with
them for over 20 years. His
mother , who is a 1979 grad
uate of St. Vincent Acade
my, is a local business own
er in Savannah.
Parker said that his
schedule doesn’t allow him
to visit Savannah as often
as he should, but what he
misses the most is his moth
er and ‘fresh’ seafood. “My
mom was always there. She
is a wonderful woman who
sacrificed for my sister and
I. She made sure we stayed
focus, and stayed out of the
street. She gave everything
for my sister and I to suc
ceed. I would not be the man
I am today without her,” he
says.
Although his bas
ketball career didn’t turn out
as he had wish, Parker is still
involved in the game. “I cur
rently manage a team in the
B3 Academy Pro-Am league
out of Atlanta. I currently
play and coach for my team,
the Georgia Knights. My
love for basketball returned
just in a different light. I still
play just about everyday and
I’m a manager/player/coach
on the team. As I converse
with agents, my goal is to
bring recognition to Georgia
athletes south of Atlanta.The
one thing I realized grow
ing up is that there is a lot
of talent outside of Atlanta.
My goal is to get these kids
recognition”.
MBB ocWBB Hosts
Georgia
Thursday in
Savannah State
University men’s and wom
en’s basketball teams host
in-state rival Georgia South
ern Thursday in Tiger Are
na.
The Lady Tigers
enter the game with a 2-4
record, while GS women’s
basketball enters the game
2-5 with the game starting
at 6 p.m. The Tigers has re
corded a 2-6 record, while
the GS men’s basketball
team has a 3-3 record with
the game starting at 8 p.m.
The Tigers are led
by McClanahan with 14.1
points per game and 5.5
rebounds per game, while
Wells is averaging 13.3
points per game, Troyce
Manassa is averaging 12.4
points per game and Austin
Dasent with 11.3 points per
game.
The Eagles have
won the last two games
against Florida A&M (83-
72) and Radford (65-64) in
Savannah.
The Lady Tigers
fell to Jacksonville Univer
sity 55-40 in Tiger Arena
Tuesday last time out. Se
nior guard Kenyata Hendrix
is tied for the school record
in 3-pointers with 153 ca
reer made 3-pointers, while
senior center Tiyonda Davis
needs four blocked shots to
Southern
Tiger Arena
set ule school record in the
Division I era. Davis has
recorded 219 career blocks
and ranks second in the
MEAC and fourth in the
NCAA with 4.0 blocks shots
per game.
The Lady Tigers
are led by Lauren “Gaby”
Moss with 13.5 points per
game and is averaging 3.7
rebounds per game, while
Hendrix is averaging 10.5
points per game, Davis is
averaging 8.8 rebounds per
game and 8.7 points per
game and senior forward
Jeremica Edwards is averag
ing 8.3 rebounds per game
and 7.0 points per game.
The Eagles have
won the first two games of
the season, but has lost the
last five games. GS is led
by Patrice Butler with 15.4
points per game and 6.7 re
bounds per game, and Angel
McGowan is averaging 12.7
points per game and 3.2 re
bounds per game.
The men’s team
travels to Oregon to face the
University of Oregon Sat
urday at 6 p.m. and Oregon
State University on Dec. 11
at 6 p.m.
The women’s team
finishes the three-game
homestand with Jackson
ville State University Satur
day at 4 p.m. in Tiger Arena.
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