Sonny Parker

At 69 years old, Sonny Parker has this physical status:

Robert S. "Sonny" Parker (born March 22, 1955) is a retired American professional basketball player who competed for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association as a small forward and shooting guard.

Since attending and playing basketball at Texas A&M University, he was selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

Parker founded the Sonny Parker Youth Foundation in Chicago to assist inner-city students after retiring from basketball.

Early years

Parker was born in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Farragut High School in Chicago, where he received All-City, All-State, and All-Public League awards. In honor of his contributions to the school's basketball team, he has been inducted into the Farragut Hall of Fame, the Chicago Public Schools Hall of Fame, and the Illinois High School Hall of Fame.

Parker spent two years at Mineral Area College after graduating from high school. Parker was named Both-American and Region Player of the Year in both of his years, as well as Conference Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year. He was an All-Conference and All-Region pick and was the Mineral Area College's Best Career Scorer. He has been inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame. The 1973 team captured the conference championship.

Personal life

Parker and his partner, Lola, have seven children. Christian Parker's son, John Parker, attended BYU-Hawaii before serving an LDS mission in Atlanta, Georgia; on his return to school, he continued his education at the College of Southern Idaho. He then enrolled at the University of Washington, and he hopes to become a collegiate basketball coach. Darryl Parker, Parker's eldest son, graduated from the University of Oregon and competed in international basketball. He is now a Chicago police officer. Jabari Parker's uncle was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 2nd pick in the 2014 NBA draft. Sonny was afflicted with kidney problems that nec necade dialysis, making it impossible for him to attend Jabari's games as of March 2013.

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College career

Despite being accepted by several of the top college basketball programs, Parker decided to attend Texas A&M University in order to learn under legendary coach Shelby Metcalf. Metcalf and his family immediately welcomed the lonely Parker, who was often accompanying his coach on fishing trips. After Parker was named the most valuable player in one of the many college tournaments in which A&M participated, he gave Metcalf a thank-giving. Metcalf treasured the watch for twenty-five years before transferring it to Parker's son Christian at the ceremony inducting Parker into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame. Parker paid a tribute to Metcalf's funeral in February 2007 and was one of the pallbearers.

Parker helped the Aggies win back-to-back Southwest Conference championships in his two years as coach, winning first-team All-Southwest Conference honors both years and in-between. In 1974-1975, the team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Parker averaged 20.7 points per game as a senior, a feat that only two other Aggie players had achieved in the 20 years since he left.

Professional career

Parker was a first-round draft pick selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 17th overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. Parker dominated the field for 29 years before being drafted as the 15th overall draft pick by the New Jersey Nets in 2005.

Parker played in 65 games, scoring a total of 379 points (5.8 points per game), with 2.7 rebounds per game and.9 assists per game. Parker's team made the playoffs, with him shooting 4.2 points per game, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.

Parker appeared in 82 games during the season, averaging 11.4 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. He came in 16th in the NBA for Field Goal Perception, with.519 field goals (406 out of 783). His best season came in 1978-1979, when he averaged 15.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, with 144 steals and 33 blocks.

Parker led the Warriors to a 102-100 victory over the Houston Rockets in November 1981 during a thrilling game. The Warriors were down by ten points at the start of the final quarter before Parker and teammate Joe Hassett combined to score 13 points and give the Warriors their first lead with three minutes remaining. Parker recovered a shot by his colleague Lloyd Free with two seconds remaining and completed a reverse layup to win the Warriors.

In September 1982, Parker missed only 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game in a miserable 1981-82 season, where Parker averaged only 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.

Parker averaged 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game over the six years he played competitive basketball.

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