Sonny Parker

Robert S. "Sonny" Parker (born March 22, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player who played small forward and shooting guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted in the first round of the 1976 NBA draft after attending and playing basketball at Texas A&M University. After retiring from basketball, Parker created the Sonny Parker Youth Foundation in Chicago to help inner-city students.

Early years Parker was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Chicago's Farragut High School, where he received All-City, All-State, and All-Public League honors. In appreciation of his efforts on the school's basketball team, he has been named to the Farragut Hall of Fame, the Chicago Public Schools Hall of Fame, and the Illinois High School Hall of Fame.

After graduating from high school, Parker spent two years at Mineral Area College. In both of his seasons, Parker was named an All-American, as well as Conference Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year. He was an All-Conference and All-Region pick, and is the Mineral Area College's Leading Career Scorer. He has been inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame.

College career

Although Parker was recruited by many of the top college basketball programs, he chose to attend Texas A&M University, primarily to learn under legendary coach Shelby Metcalf. The lonely Parker, over 1000 miles from home, was quickly embraced by Metcalf and his family, often accompanying his coach on fishing trips. The men became close enough friends that after Parker was named the most valuable player in one of the many college tournaments in which A&M participated, he gave his reward, a nice watch, to Metcalf as a gift. Metcalf treasured the watch for twenty-five years, before giving it to Parker's son Christian at the ceremony inducting Parker into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame.

In his rookie season, 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. His team reached the playoffs, with Parker contributing 4.2 points per game and 2.8 rebounds, and .9 assists per game.

The following season, Parker played in 82 games, averaging 11.4 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. His best season, however, came in 1978–1979, where he averaged 15.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, with 144 steals and 33 blocks.

After a disappointing 1981-82 season, where Parker averaged only 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game,

For the six years that he played professional basketball, Parker averaged 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. Parker is the president of the organization and is active in its daily activities. Parker's son Christian played at BYU-Hawaii before serving an LDS mission in Atlanta, Georgia; upon return he finished his career at the College of Southern Idaho. He then enrolled at the University of Washington; he aspires to become a collegiate basketball coach. Parker's eldest son, Darryl, is a graduate of the University of Oregon and played professional basketball overseas. He is now a Chicago police officer. Sonny was afflicted with kidney problems that require dialysis, making it difficult for him to attend Jabari's games.

Career statistics

NBA Source

Regular season

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG