Patience Paid Off for USC Recruit Jodi Parriott

When she was 13, Jodi Parriott dreamed of being a basketball star. But at 5 feet 5, she worried about her size.

It didn’t help her self-esteem that her older sister, Kari, was 6-2 and a standout at Long Beach State. Jodi was the 49ers’ water girl in 1990 and would marvel at her sister’s skills.

“I used to dream about being as good as my sister,” Jodi recalls. “But what I really hoped was that I would be as tall as her someday.”

Time and patience paid off.

As a senior at Valley Christian High in Cerritos, Parriott now is 6-2 and is one of the area’s most respected players. The power forward vaulted from a middle-of-the-road college prospect to a highly touted one last summer and ended the recruiting battle in November by signing with USC.

Although recruited by nearly 60 universities, including Texas, Ohio State, Arizona and Long Beach State, Parriott narrowed her choices to the Trojans and North Carolina State.

“I liked both schools equally,” Parriott said. “I chose USC because I wanted to stay in California. I wanted to stay close to my family.”

Parriott is one of six top recruits Coach Cheryl Miller has signed since replacing Marianne Stanley at USC last season.

“I wanted to go some place where I’d have a chance to win a national title,” Parriott said. “I think Coach Miller can help make that happen.”

Said Miller: “Jodi is a complete player. She can play the three, four, or five positions. That makes her extra versatile. She’s got nowhere else to go from here but up. She’s absolutely one of the best high school players in Southern California.”

While it is not impossible to get noticed by recruiters at a small high school, it can be more difficult. Valley Christian is a four-year coeducational school with 490 students. The girls’ basketball team competes in the second-lowest division in the CIF.

Parriott compensated for lack of exposure by spending years watching her sister and becoming a student of the game. While Kari was at Long Beach State, Jodi attended most practices and games. She was not afraid to ask questions.

“On our way home, I would ask her all kinds of questions like, ‘Why did you make this pass?’ or, ‘Why did you take that shot?’ ” Jodi said. “I learned so much about the game by just watching.”

The questions paid off. As Parriott grew, her game also improved. She played point guard as a freshman and sophomore and then made the transition to the frontcourt last year. She averaged 22 points as a junior, including highs of 47 and 45 points.

Valley Christian, which competes in the Southern Section’s Olympic League, has won three consecutive sectional titles and appears headed toward a fourth. Much of the Crusaders’ success can be attributed to Parriott.

“I always thought Jodi would be a guard,” said Eleanor Dykstra, Valley Christian’s longtime coach. “(As a freshman) she read the floor very well, was an excellent passer and shooter, and was very coachable. She had all of the characteristics of a point guard.”

Parriott literally outgrew the point guard position when she went from 5-8 as a freshman to 6-1 as a junior. Dykstra then moved her to the post. The backcourt experience has proved beneficial, however.

“As a post player, she handles the ball better than most players her size,” said Dykstra, who has won six section titles in her 25 years with the Crusaders. “Her versatility is her biggest strength. She is equally effective on the perimeter or in the post.”

One of Parriott’s favorite assignments is confusing defenses by dribbling up the floor against the press.

“I think I surprise a lot of people with my ball-handling skills,” Parriott said. “A lot of people don’t think a 6-2 player can dribble the ball below their knees. With my height, I’m able to see the floor well, and it’s easier for me to find the open player and break the press.”

Parriott, saw her game reach a new level last summer. In various league games and camps, her skills were so sharp that many college coaches moved her up on their lists.

“My confidence level is high. I feel relaxed and more or less in control,” Parriott said. “I feel comfortable anywhere on the floor.”

Parriott’s steady improvement can also be linked to her long association with Dykstra, who coached her sister at Valley Christian in 1987.

“She’s a gym rat,” Dykstra said. “Everything you give her to work on, she works on. She’s always striving to improve her game.”

To further improve her skills, Parriott has often challenged boys at school to pick-up games before class.

Kari has remained one of Jodi’s biggest supporters.

“Jodi started young and gained a good understanding of the game,” said Kari, now a girls’ basketball coach at Paramount High. “She’s had a mental perspective of the game as both a guard and a post player.

“She’s got a real good grasp of what should be happening on the floor.”

For Jodi, keeping her positions straight is also difficult at times. Her backcourt instincts often surface.

“I still have that point guard mentality,” Parriott said. “When we’re struggling, I’m not afraid to reset the offense and get us back on track. I see situations on the floor that my teammates don’t see.”