I like the underdogs. I like the little guys. Trevin Parks is an underdog and a little guy. He is listed at 5-11. He's not. Pre-draft tryouts might be as close to the NBA as he gets.
But if you watched Parks play at Johnson C. Smith, and before that for a season at Charlotte, and before that at Hickory High, you remember him.
Parks is a leader and a ballhandler and a long-range shooter. He averaged 25 points and 4.1 assists last season for the Golden Bulls. They were his team.
A week and a half ago the Charlotte Bobcats called his agent and Parks was thrilled. He reported to Charlotte's pre-draft workout Wednesday and will fly to New York tonight and work out for Brooklyn Thursday.
He worked primarily against Middle Tennessee State guard Marcos Knight Wednesday. Knight is a 6-2 first-team All-Sunbelt Conference guard.
Knight often used his superior size and bulk to post up Parks. But Parks also had moments, utilizing his quickness and range to hit a three and draw a foul.
Players shot at the end of practice and Parks, working primarily outside the three-point line, hit 12 staight jumpers. I looked at new Bobcats coach Steve Clifford. He was watching players shoot at the other end of the court.
"Hey, coach!" I wanted to yell. "Look down here!"
Then Clifford looked at Parks.
Parks missed three straight.
"Hey, coach!" I wanted to yell. "Parks hit 12 straight! I have witnesses!"
Feeding Parks the ball was Indiana center, and lottery choice, Cody Zeller.
Watching were Rod Higgins, Rich Cho and Patrick Ewing.
This was a thrill for Parks, he acknowledged, playing in front of the Bobcats and playing 1.9 miles from the Smith campus.
He lingered on the court, shaking hands with the team's executives and coaches. He was the last player from the first group to leave.
