Tony Parker Is Big! How The Bruin Center Is Becoming A Major Factor This Season

Big things were to expected for UCLA’s junior center Tony Parker. He then got to Westwood and realized how different things are in the college game, especially with a coach that did not play him a ton of minutes in his first season. Parker was raw, but capable. Unfortunately, former coach Ben Howland did not see it that way as he only gave Parker just over six minutes of playing time in his first year. For being a five-star player out of high school that was brought in to help out a thin front court, he definitely was not prepped to do so.

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Enter Steve Alford who took over UCLA basketball after Parker’s freshman season. The lack of playing time mixed with home sickness (Parker is from Georgia) almost lead Parker to take his talents elsewhere. A talk with Alford about where Parker would fit into this new style of ball had quelled any idea of transferring. Parker would stay a Bruin.

The fact that Parker was unable to play many minutes in his first season meant that he had a lot of catching up to do in his second. His development was going to have to be a work in progress, yet seemed like more like he was thrown to the wolves, but in a good way that gives him more experience.

Last season Parker was the only big man that had the skill set to work under the basket. The two go-to guys, forwards David Wear and Travis Wear, were not exactly low post threats. Their specialty was their shots and was a necessity for UCLA, though it meant that Parker would take in the brunt of the work down low. The good news… he was getting a ton of experience and producing on the court.

Nov 23, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tony Parker (second from right) battles for a rebound with Long Beach State 49ers forward David Samuels (right) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

This season, Parker has a plethora of talent to help him in the paint. The addition on Kevon Looney, Thomas Welsh and Gyorgy Goloman has definitely taken some of the work off of Parker’s shoulders. With that, the third-year center has been able to go to work and show what type of player he truly can be.

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As you can see, though it is early in the 2014-15 season, he is continuing to improve, which is necessary right now. With the addition of some much needed big men, especially Looney, Parker has all the time in the world to do what he does down low and it is working. Though UCLA is having trouble distributing the ball without a true point guard, it is imperative that Parker maintains a presence at the 5 spot and so far, it looks like he is handling his business.

December 3, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tony Parker (23) reacts during the 73-45 against the Cal State Fullerton Titans at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Parker still has a ways to go, but early in this season it is clear that he has made some improvements. Though he is not getting a double-double every night like Looney, getting 11 points and 7 rebounds a game are the type of numbers he should have been achieving all a long, especially when he is leading the team in field goal percentage. But it is not just the time on the court that allows for that. So far in this season, we have seen how Parker is earning those numbers.

His improvements are uncanny. He is going to the rim with authority, he is boxing out the way a true big man should and his overall presence around the rim is being felt and he is only getting better… basically, he looks like a completely different player. In the first few games, though Alford was able to get some good production out of him, Parker seemed timid. In the last few, he has asserted himself and has slowly become that wrecking ball he was meant to be in his freshman year.

It does not yet seem like Parker is bound for the NBA, but at the pace he is going, he is looking to have a killer senior season which would definitely establish himself as a formidable big man that teams in the association can utilize. For now, it is just good to have a center down low that is getting the job done. Can you imagine where he would be if he got proper playing time and guidance his freshman year?