Tom Parker (born July 1, 1950) is an American former standout basketball player at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

who played for the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

between 1969 and 1972. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1971–72 he was named the co- Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. As of 2011 he is a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

Early life and high school

Parker grew up in Collinsville, Illinois and attended Collinsville High School. Standing at and weighing , he played the center position and dominated his opponents. In three seasons of varsity basketball he scored 2,041 career points and set many school records. These records include his career point total, points in a single game (50), season and career scoring averages (32.9 and 23.7, respectively), field goals made in a game (21), season (359) and career (818), shots taken in a career (1,520), total career rebounds (851) as well as defensive rebounds in a career (559). In all three seasons he suited up for the Kahoks he garnered all-state honors, and as a senior he was named a ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' magazine All-American.

Kentucky and later life

When Parker matriculated in 1968–69,

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

eligibility rules at the time prohibited freshmen from playing on varsity teams, thus his official career at Kentucky did not start until his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

campaign in 1969–70. Parker was a solid contributor from the start, averaging 10.4 points per game in 25 appearances. He played a key role as a reserve in a season where the Wildcats won their third of what would be six consecutive

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

regular season championships. They advanced to the

1970 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1970, and ended with the champio ...

's Elite Eight before losing to Jacksonville, 106–100. The following season Parker became a prominent player and a regular starter. In 28 games he averaged 17.5 points, which led Kentucky, and the team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. He was an All-SEC First Team performer as well as a member on the Academic All-SEC Team. Parker's final season in 1971–72 saw him lead Kentucky back to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight behind an 18.0 points per game average. He was named the co-SEC Player of the Year with Mike Edwards of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and he repeated as a first team all-conference performer. In 80 career games Parker scored 1,238 points and grabbed 660 rebounds. Parker also unwittingly played a large part in influencing soon-to-be Kentucky star

Jack Givens Jack "Goose" Givens (born September 21, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus second-team All-American honors. He led the team to the 1978 NCAA Men' ...

' decision to attend. Givens was not thrilled with Kentucky as a potential school to play for, but after seeing Parker in action his attitude changed. Givens later said, "Tom Parker could really shoot the ball, a lefty small forward who was a lot like

Kevin Grevey Kevin Michael Grevey (born May 12, 1953) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'5" (1.96 m) swingman, the left-handed Grevey played for the Washington Bullets from 1975 to 1983 and the Milwaukee Bucks from 1983 to 1985. He is ...

... I loved the way Tom played, so that made me change my thinking towards Kentucky." After his collegiate career, the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

selected him in the sixth round (83rd overall) in the 1972 NBA draft, although Parker never played in the league. He eventually became a teacher and now resides in

References

External links

Career game-by-game statistics at Kentucky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Tom 1950 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Collinsville, Illinois Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Greater St. Louis Basketball players from Lexington, Kentucky