Santa Ana’s Parker Must Be Seen to Be Believed

Atari Parker’s wide range of basketball skills is reflected in the Orange Empire Conference basketball statistics.

The sophomore guard from first-place Santa Ana is averaging 28 points, seven assists, seven steals and three blocked shots, all tops in the conference.

But her talent and versatility can be truly appreciated only by watching her in person.

Orange Coast Coach Mike Thornton said Parker, who is 5 feet 10, is the best all-around player he has seen in the conference in his 11 seasons.

Thornton made that assessment Wednesday after Parker scored 28 points, including eight of eight free throws, as the Dons ended OCC’s 18-game winning streak with a 72-69 victory.

“It’s a shame people here at Santa Ana don’t know what they have,” Santa Ana Coach Jack Single said. “They’ll never see another player like her . . . she’s that unique. You really could never ask more out of a player. It’s a pleasure to come to practice and watch her work.”

But the success of this season represents a major turnaround for Parker, 20, who graduated from Riverside Arlington High in 1997 after averaging 24.7 points as a senior.

Parker signed early with Fresno State and redshirted there during the 1997-98 season.

Britt King took over the Bulldog program last season and Parker wasn’t part of the new coach’s plan. She averaged 3.7 points and didn’t start a game as a freshman.

Parker left school and decided to transfer to Santa Ana on the advice of Fresno State teammate Pauline McGee, who played for Single at Santa Ana during the 1996-97 season.

Single knew right away that Parker would thrive in the Dons’ system, which features constant defensive pressure and an up-tempo style.

Parker wasn’t so sure. “I lost a whole lot of confidence,” she said about her time at Fresno State. “I didn’t think a whole lot was going to happen here.”

But Parker’s opinion changed for good in her first game when she scored 43 points, a Santa Ana record, in a victory over Los Angeles Harbor.

Parker likes scoring but said she isn’t too comfortable with all the shooting she is required to do so.

“Twenty shots a game,” Parker said. “I think that’s doing too much. But [Single] thinks that’s not enough. I’m just doing what the man tells me.”

Parker is shooting 50%, but each miss drives her to work harder for a rebound or steal and take an extra look for an open teammate.

“I always worry about getting the ball to my teammates,” she said. “I check to see how many assists I get and if I don’t get enough, then I’m not doing my job as a basketball player and a friend.”

Parker is helped by some talented teammates, including sophomore forward Stephanie Patten, who has an improved outside game to go with her inside attack. She averages 19 points and leads the conference in rebounding at 13.6.

Sophomore guard Lisa Arcangel is averaging 12 points and Santa Ana leads the conference at 90 points a game, which is 15 points better than No. 2 Orange Coast.

RIVERSIDE BITES BULLET

Riverside Coach Mike Churchill volunteered to move his football team from the Central to the Northern Division of the Mission Conference at a meeting of coaches and athletic directors Friday.

Athletic directors from the Mission, Foothill and Western State conferences also voted to form a committee to look into cross-scheduling for the 2001 football season. Teams currently play all games within their conferences.

Orange Coast, which spent the last two seasons in the Northern Division as part of a planned rotation, will move back into the Central Division.

The rotation is necessary to keep six teams in each division, but it has been a source of frustration in recent years because of the dominance by Northern Division teams.