Timing Is Everything for Parks : He Knows a Big Season Could Put Him in Lottery

Duke basketball player Cherokee Parks listened closely as, one by one, the names were read off at the NBA draft last week.

Cal’s Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, with the second pick.

Duke’s Grant Hill went third, to the Detroit Pistons.

North Carolina’s Eric Montross to the Boston Celtics, with the ninth pick.

Can Parks be far behind?

A former Marina High standout, Parks prepares for his senior season at Duke knowing he could be an NBA lottery pick next year. Or will he?

Fact: Parks is one of 16 college basketball players who began workouts Tuesday at UC Irvine in preparation for the Goodwill Games July 23-28 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Fact: Of the 26 players on past U.S. Goodwill Games rosters, 25 have gone on to play in the NBA. The only one who hasn’t is former Duke guard Tommy Amaker, who was selected in the third round by Seattle but went on to become an assistant coach at his alma mater.

Those facts may weigh in Parks’ favor, but for all his talent and skills, the 6-foot-11 center could be far from a lock as a lottery pick.

A prep All-American, he struggled as a freshman at Duke and was the target of constant criticism from teammate Christian Laettner.

He improved over the next two seasons, playing on the gold-medal winning under-22 world championship team last year.

As a junior last season, he averaged only 14.4 points and 8.4 rebounds as the Blue Devils reached the NCAA championship game.

Some scouts have wondered if Parks will be quick or strong enough to make an impact in the NBA, and his size and skills have forced him to decide between playing center and power forward.

But Parks has played in two of the last three NCAA title games and has held his own in a tough Atlantic Coast Conference. Time will tell if he’s ready for the NBA.

In a recent interview with Times Staff Writer Mike Reilley, Parks reflects on his past, discusses the present and ponders his future at Duke . . . and beyond:

THE FUTURE

Q. Do you consider yourself an NBA lottery pick right now?

A. It’s a matter of me going out and asserting myself this year. Skill-wise I think I can be a high pick, maybe a late lottery pick. I’m not saying that with any cockiness. I’m just saying I wouldn’t be a disappointment.

Q. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski plans to play you more at power forward in your senior season. Is that the position you see yourself playing in the NBA?

A. I’m stuck between a four (power forward) and a five (center). I would have to put on weight to play center and I’m not comfortable yet playing power forward. It depends on what team would want to put in some time with me. I would definitely be a contributor there.

Q. Your draft status is going to depend a great deal on your senior year. What do you need to improve on to play at the NBA level?

A. I would like to get my rebounds and blocked shots up there. I’m trying to put a little weight back on. I played last season at 247 pounds, but I’m down to 230 right now and I feel a lot better at this weight.

Q. Does your weight have much of an impact on your game?

A. In my case, yes. I’ve tried and tried to add weight, but I don’t have the frame for a big body. The 15 pounds I lost were just straight off the gut, all fat. I took three weeks off (before Goodwill Games practices) and figured I would fall flat when I came back. But I feel great.

Every year before the season started, I would just grub on every meal to put on weight. I would just throw stuff down my throat. All that weight bogged me down. The main thing now is to get in the weight room and get stronger and not worry about the weight. I’ll still be able to bang inside, but I’m not going to be throwing bodies around in there. That’s just not going to happen with me.

Q. A year from now the NBA draft will have just ended. How do you think you would look in a Toronto Raptors uniform?

A. From the way Toronto fans treated the Blue Jays after they won, I would like to play there. They love their athletes there. And it would be great to play for a team in its inaugural year. You couldn’t beat it.

Q. Where would you like to play? The Clippers and Lakers will probably be lottery teams next year.

A. Yeah, it would be ideal to play in California--the Clippers, Lakers, Golden State, Sacramento. Toronto would be nice too. And so would New York. I have a lot of friends there.

Q. Past Duke teams have looked to Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill for leadership. This year, you’re the guy. How will you handle this new role?

A. I think I can do so much more next year than I have done in the last couple years. The main thing, and I talk to Coach K about this a lot, is that I’m always afraid that I’ll do too much. I’m always wondering if it’s a good shot to take at that time, instead of just going out there and playing. Coach K has never had a player he has had to get on about shooting the ball as much as he has me. He gives me the green light and tells me, ‘Whenever you get the ball, shoot it.’

It’s not like I’m lacking confidence in my skills, it’s just timing, knowing when to do what. I’ve never been thrust into a position where I’ve been a force. Next season, I’m in that position. I have to step up.

Q. How do you want to be remembered at Duke?

A. I just want to keep up what we’ve done in the past. We would like to be ACC champs again. And we want another shot at the Final Four. I’ve played on two Final Four teams and one NCAA championship team. I want to play on another one.

And I have some personal goals. There are certain awards I still want to win in college.

Q. Such as the John Wooden Award (as college basketball’s top player)?

A. You said it. Not me.

THE PRESENT

Q. Many draft analysts said the Dallas Mavericks made a mistake taking Jason Kidd instead of your college teammate, Grant Hill. If you were Dallas’ general manager, what would you have done?

A. I don’t know, but I think Dallas’ Jimmy Jackson and Jamal Mashburn do some of the same things Grant does, so I think that’s why (the Mavericks) went with Jason Kidd.

I definitely think Grant was the best player in this year’s draft. By far. He has the best all-around game. I play against him every day, and he’s so hard to stop. He has so many things in his game . . . it’s so much more suited for the NBA than college. One-on-one, you can’t stop him.

Q. Best in the draft?

A. You can’t base Grant’s year on his stats. He did so much more this year than he has been accustomed to doing. He grew a lot, and that helped him prepare for the NBA.

Going to Detroit couldn’t be a better situation for Grant. It’s a team that needs some help, and he’s excited about going there.

Q. Another Duke teammate, Antonio Lang, is headed to the Phoenix Suns. How do you think he will fit in with Charles Barkley?

A. Tony will do well there. He’s the same as Grant, he knows his role. He’ll go to the coach and say, ‘What do you want?’ and he’ll do whatever the team needs him to. He has come a long way with his jump shot and he has developed his game.

Q. You played against North Carolina center Eric Montross for three years. The Boston Celtics raised some eyebrows when they took him with the ninth pick. A good pick or a bad one?

A. I don’t know the Celtics’ exact situation with Robert Parish. From playing against Eric, I know he’s tough and can bang inside, but he’s not going to be the guy who’s explosive in any category. He won’t be your top scorer, rebounder or shot blocker. If Parish is leaving, they’ll need a guy who can give them 15 to 18 points and seven to 10 boards a game. So I don’t know how Eric is going to fit in there.

Q. Speaking of players you know, there’s an interesting story in Sacramento with Bobby Hurley’s comeback from severe injuries he suffered in a car accident. Where were you when you heard Bobby was hurt?

A. I was pulling an all-nighter, studying for a test. We caught it on CNN at about 2 or 3 in the morning. First thing I did was call Coach K and he told us they had taken Bobby to the hospital. It was a shock to all of us. Here’s a guy we had played with for a couple years, and now he’s suffered a career- or life-threatening injury.

But there’s no doubt in my mind he would try to come back and play ball. He was always one of those players who can run all day. Last time I talked to him, he said his body felt good, but it was hard to do a lot of conditioning because of the collapsed lungs from the accident. Once those heal up, there’s no reason why he won’t be back in the lineup.

Q. You’ll be heading to St. Petersburg, Russia, soon for the Games. How’s your Russian, and how will you handle the international style of play?

A. My Russian’s not good at all. Actually, I took a Russian history class and a socialism and communism class. I kind of know what’s going on over there. This should be an interesting trip.

And practicing with the top players in the country each day will improve my game. It’s a different style of play overseas (international rules). That’s the hardest thing--adjusting to the wider lane, the ball can get tapped out of the cylinder and the players usually get away with an extra step or two.

THE PAST

Q. Arkansas’ Scotty Thurman is on the Goodwill Games team with you. He hit the big shot that beat Duke in the NCAA championship game last March; any painful memories?

A. When Scotty hit that shot (with the shot clock winding down), it was a great defensive exchange for us. We couldn’t have played better defense, the pass to him was bobbled. It was a perfect shot with no time on the clock and Tony Lang about two inches away from blocking it. You can’t get down on a shot like that.

Q. Duke was scheduled to tour Australia in late spring, but Coach K canceled the trip because some of the players’ grades weren’t up to par. Do you agree with that decision?

A. We all wanted to go, but I saw it more as a vacation. I was going to summer school anyway, so I might be the wrong person to ask. It worked out better for me that we didn’t go. It would have been a great experience. But I feel bad for the coaches, because they were the ones who set the trip up, then they were the ones who had to explain why we weren’t going.

Coach K gives us a lot of academic freedom. We have to schedule our own classes and we don’t have study halls. As players, we let the coaching staff down.

Q. Were you having any trouble with school?

A. No, I’m fine. After the fall semester, I’ll only have one more class to take (for a history degree). I’ll be cruising second semester. That’s why I took summer school.

Q. What did you think of reports in late spring that Coach K was considering leaving Duke for the NBA?

A. I hadn’t heard about it but my mom called me and asked, ‘What’s up with Coach K?’ So I went to his house and talked to him about it. I just wanted to know what was going on, in case any of the other players had any questions.

He was really bogged down with it. He can’t go anywhere in Durham without being mobbed anyway, but if he were to go out during that time period, he would have been swamped.

When I got there, he was sitting at a desk with a FAX machine and a pile of notes. Phone calls were coming in like crazy. He looked like a wreck.

I went in there with an open mind. I knew he loved it in Durham, but I also understood that he had to look out for his best interests. Of course, I wanted him to stay because I want the other players here to have the chance to go through what I did here.

Q. What did Coach K say to you?

A. He told me his heart’s in Durham and he wants to be at Duke more than anywhere else. I was glad he stayed.