NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — His name is Tony Parker but he’s not the point guard for the San Antonio Spurs and he’s not married to Eva Longoria.
No, this Tony Parker is a 6-foot-9, 265-pound rising junior center from Lithonia (Ga.) Miller Grove ranked among the top 10 centers in his class.
As a freshman, Parker helped lead his team to a 30-3 record and the Georgia Class 4A state championship. He started 32 games and averaged 7.5 points. and 10.3 rebounds.
Earlier this month he played alongside Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Tony Wroten on the USA U17 national team that won the gold medal in Hamburg, Germany.
“I got looks from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Miami, Georgetown and West Virginia,” Parker said last week at the Peach Jam. “I’m pretty much open right now.”
“Probably there’s not a school in the country that won’t recruit Tony by ’12. He’ll have a lot of opportunities,” said Georgia Stars coach Norm Parker.
Norm Parker (no relation) points out that Tony just turned 16 and is still a “young man.”
“Tony’s upside is just tremendous,” Norm said. “He’s big, he’s strong. He’s got great hands and good footwork. He’s got to always continue to work on his body and get it in the bets shape possible and he’ll do that as he matures and gets older.”
Norm would like to see Tony get down to 240 or 250 pounds to play in college and suggests that he’s more of a natural four-man.
“Because of his size and he can play in the paint, he can always get his shot up because he can get separation,” Norm said. “His upside is unbelievable.”
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