| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1961-11-26)November 26, 1961 Grand Junction, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | March 30, 2013(2013-03-30) (aged 51) Pasay, Philippines |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Middleton (Middleton, Tennessee) |
| College | Memphis (1980–1984) |
| NBA draft | 1984: 3rd round, 58th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Atlanta Hawks |
| Playing career | 1984–1999 |
| Position | Guard |
| Number | 22 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1985–1986 | Pensacola Tornados |
| 1986–1987 | Mississippi Jets |
| 1987 | San Miguel Beer |
| 1988–1989 | Formula Shell |
| 1988 | Anejo Rhum 65ers |
| 1989–1990 | Rockford Lightning |
| 1990–1993 | Formula Shell |
| 1993–1994 | Rochester Renegade |
| 1994–1997 | Aspac Jakarta |
| 1997–1999 | Formula Shell |
| As a coach: | |
| 1990 | Formula Shell |
| 2011–2012 | Petron Blaze Boosters (assistant) |
| 2012 | San Miguel Beermen |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As assistant coach: | |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Bobby Ray Parks Sr. (November 26, 1961 – March 30, 2013) was an American professionalbasketball player fromGrand Junction, Tennessee. He played forMemphis State University (now theUniversity of Memphis) from 1980 to 1984 and played internationally in the Philippines, Indonesia and France. As one of the most celebrated "import" players in thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA), Parks became the second American ever inducted into thePBA Hall of Fame in 2009.[1]
Bobby Parks came to Memphis State University in the fall of 1980 under head coachDana Kirk. Over the next four seasons he helped theTigers to an 86–34 record, twoMetro Conference Championships and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He appeared in 27 games as a freshman and totaled 238 points.
During his second season with the Tigers, 1981–82, Parks upped his scoring average to 11.4 points per game in leading the team to a 24–5 record. As a junior, Parks received All-America honors fromThe Sporting News after scoring 488 points and helping his team to an NCAA Midwest Region invitation. He capped his Memphis career by again averaging in double figures in scoring and finished hissenior season with a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Parks is now ranked 15th in his alma mater's career scoring with 1,266 points.[2]
Parks was chosen in the third round by theAtlanta Hawks in the1984 NBA draft, the 58th player of 228 chosen in the draft. Wearing his trademark no. 22, Parks played for the Hawks in the NBA pre-season but was cut before the regular campaign started. He also played parts of four seasons in theContinental Basketball Association, appearing in 83 games for thePensacola Tornados,Mississippi Jets,Rockford Lightning andRochester Renegade between 1985 and 1994.[3] He was selected to the CBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1986.[4]
Parks began a career overseas in France in 1986 and in 1987, then played in the Philippines where he would become a legend. He made his PBA debut withSan Miguel Beer in 1987. He saw action the following year forFormula Shell until 1999. He finished his 12-year PBA career with nearly 9,000 points, over 3,000 rebounds and more than 1,000 assists in 220 games. In 1989 alone, he averaged 52.6 points in 23 games with a high of 72. Parks won a PBA record of sevenBest Import awards and led his teams (San Miguel and Shell) to three PBA championships. While in the Philippines, Parks also appeared in several Filipino movies.[2]
After his PBA stint, Parks went to Indonesia to play forAspac Jakarta in theKobatama (Kompetisi Bola Basket Utama) competition. Parks, called by Indonesian fans as 'The Ice Man' or 'Uncle Bob,' suited up as import for the Indonesian club teams in the Seaba tournament and Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA-Asia) Champions Cup.[5] Parks involved in bringing Aspac to final since 1994 and dedicated two titles in 1995 and 1996. Parks sweetly closed his stint in Indonesia in 1997, when Aspac defeatedIndonesia Muda with 112–99.[6] Parks made 12 3-point shots to break the previous record set byPelita Jaya's Aprijadi who made 10. Parks dominated the Indonesian league especially since local basketball players in this country at that time are not that talented at all.
| Team | Season | Conference | Elims./Clas. round | Playoffs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | PCT | Finish | PG | W | L | PCT | Results | |||
| Formula Shell | 1990 | First | 10 | 8 | 2 | .800 | 2nd | 8 | 6 | 2 | .750 | Replaced after the semifinal round |
| Career total | 10 | 8 | 2 | .800 | Playoff Total | 8 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 0 PBA championship | ||
He returned to Memphis in 2005, partly to finish his degree under the invitation of coach John Calipari and the athletic department.[7] Another motivation for the move was to bring his sonBobby Jr. (also known as "Ray Ray"), a promising teenage player, to Memphis to expose him to better basketball competition.[1] Parks also served as the personal assistant to John Paul "Jack" Jones, a wealthyUniversity of Virginia alumnus from Memphis who is the namesake forUVA's current basketball arena.[8]
On June 2, 2010, Parks and his family moved back to the Philippines. Parks accepted a position as athletics director atNational University in Manila.[9] During that time, he was in the middle of a battle with laryngeal cancer; his treatment was reported to be successful in April 2011.[10] In November 2010, Bobby Jr. signed aletter of intent to play basketball atGeorgia Tech, but then disappeared from the view of both Tech and the American media for several months. Eventually, Luke Winn ofSports Illustrated tracked the younger Parks down, discovering in April 2011 that Bobby Jr. had enrolled at NU and was expected to lead theBulldogs in the upcomingUAAPseason.[10]
In 2011, theSan Miguel Beermen (ABL) joined theASEAN Basketball League and named Parks its first head coach.[11] He led the team to a finals appearance, losing to theIndonesia Warriors.[12]
On March 30, 2013 (Black Saturday), Parks died after a long battle withlung cancer, which developed from his previously untreatedlaryngeal cancer.[13][14]
To commemorate Parks' legacy, the PBA renamed the prestigious "PBA Best Import of the Conference Award" to the "Bobby Parks PBA Best Import of the Conference Award".[15] The award was renamed on March 31, 2013, a day after Parks' death, as it coincided with the scheduled awarding during the2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup. The first recipient of the renamed award wasRobert Dozier of theAlaska Aces—coincidentally, also a formerMemphis player.
Parks became the second American and the first import ever inducted into thePBA Hall of Fame on October 9, 2009.
Parks was inducted into the University of Memphis' M Club Hall of Fame on September 10, 2004.[16]