MERALCO coach Norman Black believes Bobby Ray Parks Jr. is destined to create his own niche in the PBA as he follows in the footsteps of his late dad.
Parks is set to make his PBA debut on Sunday when Blackwater takes on Meralco, which incidentally is coached by his ‘ninong’ Norman, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Black and Parks Sr. were contemporaries, having played with and against each other in the eighties and nineties. Black also coached the late Parks briefly at San Miguel.
Comparisons are therefore inevitable once the young Parks makes his PBA bow, but Black said it's like comparing apples to oranges.
“That’s a lot of pressure on Rayray, comparing him to his father. His father was an NBA player. He was good enough to play in the PBA,” said Black in describing Parks Sr., who was selected in the third round of the 1984 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks.
Parks Sr. won an unprecedented seven Best Import awards from 1987 to 1992. The award was later named after him in 2013 after he died after a long battle with cancer.
“Bobby is in a class of his own," said Black. "Rayray is a good player but his father is up there. He is way, way up there."
However, Black said there is no reason for Parks not to become a big star in the PBA, as he has been in all the leagues he has played in from the collegiate ranks to the professional league.
Aside from his two UAAP MVP awards, Parks Jr. also claimed three Asean Basketball League (ABL) MVPs with San Miguel Alab Pilipinas before moving to the PBA.
“He has been a star everywhere he’s gone to so I don’t see why the PBA would be any exception,” Black said. “High school, college, pro, he has been a good player. I also expect that to happen in the PBA also.”
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