Parker Ignores Boos, Leads Upset of St. John’s

Richie Parker had waited three years to walk back on the court in a game that counted. He walked off the court a winner in his collegiate debut Saturday.

Parker, a New York schoolboy star who pleaded guilty to a sexual felony and hadn’t played organized basketball since January 1994, scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Long Island University defeated St. John’s, 76-73.

It was the Blackbirds’ first victory over the Red Storm in 60 years, and came in Fran Fraschilla’s debut as St. John’s coach.

But the focus of the day was Parker, booed by the sellout crowd of 6,008 at Alumni Hall during the introduction of the starting lineups. The 6-foot-5 freshman guard also heard some chants of “jail bird” as he went to the foul line late in the game.

“It felt great to be back,” said Parker, who received five years probation and settled his part of an $11-million civil suit filed by the victim by pledging a percentage of earnings he may make playing professionally. “I didn’t know what to expect from the crowd, but I knew I would stay focused. This is a whole new ballgame for me.”

Dave Masciale’s three-point play with 3.3 seconds left gave the Blackbirds the victory. Even Masciale gave up the spotlight to talk about his teammate.

“I called Coach [Ray] Haskins when I heard about Richie coming here and let him know I thought it would be great,” Masciale said. “It’s not a distraction that he’s getting all the attention because we never got attention before.”