Region boys hoops: King's Fork's Parker a do-it-all who plays all over the court

Jaquon Parker prides himself on being a team player.

That was evident Tuesday night, when King’s Fork played Booker T. Washington in the Eastern Region quarterfinals. 

King’s Fork was making a run, led by Parker, when 6-foot-6 center Jay Copeland picked up his second foul with 5:58 left and the Bulldogs trailing by three.

King’s Fork coach Josh Worrell needed someone to replace Copeland, who had the huge responsibility of covering Bookers 6-foot-9 center DeShawn Painter. Without hesitation, Parker – a 6-4 junior – moved from his shooting guard position to the paint.

Painter scored just four points the rest of the half as King’s Fork cut the deficit to 25-24 by halftime. The Bulldogs went on to defeat the Bookers 44-43 to advance to Friday’s semifinals, where they meet Deep Creek at Churchland High School.

After the game, Worrell talked about how important Parker’s play was midway through the second quarter.

“Parker understands that he has to play anywhere and everywhere I ask him to play, and he doesn’t mind,” Worrell said. “He just wants his team to move on and he just wants to keep playing. That’s the whole key.”

“Whatever they need me to do, I’ll do it,” said Parker, a natural shooting guard, who has played every position this season. “Our big man got in foul trouble and coach told me to come and take Painter, and that’s what I did.”

Parker admits he was a bit nervous because he was giving up at least 5 inches to Painter, who is regarded as one of the nation’s top big men in the Class of 2009.

“It was actually fun but also challenging at the same time,” he said. “My main goal was that I didn’t want to let him score. So I had to step up and play him hard.”

Worrell knew he had to rely on Parker in a big-time situation.

“I was a little concerned with him playing against Painter,” Worrell said. “But he’s strong enough to play him but I was just concerned that Painter would wear him down.”

Parker was fine and scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the first half.

For the season, Parker is averaging 17.1 points along with nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.

The Bulldogs will need more of that kind of play if they expect to advance to the region finals and gain a berth to the Group AAA state tournament.

The Bulldogs will be playing Deep Creek for the fourth time. 

King’s Fork has won the last two meetings, including an 86-68 decision in the Southeastern District semifinals.

“We have a lot of confidence that we can beat them again but at the same time we know we can’t overlook them,” Parker said.

“We’ve worked hard to get to Churchland but we don’t want to get there and lay an egg,” Worrell added. “And I’ve told the kids to not overlook this opportunity because if you lose this game, it’s just like losing in the first round.”