UC Irvine athlete scores with Lakers

Something incredible happened in the Anteater family last week. It wasn’t a prominent scientist or a distinguished scholar being honored by a science academy or a scholarly organization. Instead, it was the tallest UC Irvine alumnus receiving a dream job with one of the world’s best basketball teams.

Former 7-foot UCI standout Adam Parada signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. Isn’t that awesome? All of us in the Newport-Mesa area should be celebrating. What Parada has accomplished is so unusual that I’m still having trouble believing it.

Just look at the odds. The probability of a UCI basketball player joining the NBA is like hitting a California lottery jackpot.

The greatest basketball player in UCI history, Kevin Magee, was snubbed by NBA coaches in 1982. About five years ago, Jerry Green, another Anteater great, was overlooked by every organization in the NBA. Both Magee and Green sought greener pastures in Europe to fulfill their “American dreams.” Isn’t that ironic?

The last time I heard about someone from UCI making headlines in the NBA was during the 1993-94 finals. I was among a raucous crowd in the student center at UCI, watching a final game between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks. Right in the middle of the game, the announcer said that Scott Brooks of UCI was going in for the Rockets. We all looked at each other in disbelief, thinking he might be making a joke. Well, it was true. Brooks actually helped the Rockets beat the Knicks with some decisive three-point shots.

Now Parada not only will be sharing the same court with Kobe Bryant, he’ll also be receiving cheers from Jack Nicholson, and if he’s lucky, he’ll get some smooches from Angelina Jolie or Salma Hayek.

Surprisingly, Parada’s deal with the Lakers received few, if any, headlines in the local newspapers. I almost had to use a magnifying glass to find it in the Los Angeles Times. The Daily Pilot had a generous heading but the story had only modest praise for him. However, the Spanish newspaper La Opinion gave justice to the story, to Anteater fans and to Adam Parada. “Proxima Parada: Lakers” -- “Next Stop: Lakers” -- the front page read.

Parada is likely to join Bryant in Newport Beach or, even better, buy a house in Costa Mesa. He loves the beaches of Orange County. Two months ago, I found him at a commercial center in Costa Mesa. We had a brief conversation about his professional career and future plans. He told me he was working hard to get to the NBA, though he never mentioned the Lakers as one of his top choices. Instead, he thought his future was beginning to shape up in Portland, Ore., with the Trailblazers

Parada will be making a decent salary with the Lakers, and he might even be getting some endorsement cash from businesses targeting Latino markets. Despite all that money, he’ll continue to be the same down-to-earth guy.

I met him at UCI. After every game, my daughter and I would hang out in the press room to wait for the players to come out. In the meantime, I would talk with Parada’s abuelito (grandfather), a wonderful man from Mexico. He used to tell me he hoped his older grandchild would first graduate from the university and then seek opportunities in the NBA. The younger Parada did both. He received his bachelor of arts degree in sociology last year and is about to play basketball in the NBA for about the hottest team in the world.

Success hasn’t come easily for Parada. He had to strive from the bottom of the social scale. He began working as early as the seventh grade, helping his dad’s landscaping business in Alta Loma, Parada’s native city. As we know, UCI isn’t the best stepping-stone for playing professional basketball. So he went an extra mile to get the NBA scouts’ attention. First, he played with the Mexican national team while attending UCI; then he trained with various professional teams; and recently he played for the NBA developmental league’s Huntsville Flight.

In short, it took hard work and tenacity to reach his goals. “My attitude toward the game is always positive, and that might have caught the attention of Phil Jackson,” he told La Opinion.

I’m sure that same attitude will earn him many years of NBA play. I say two thumbs up for Adam Parada.

* HUMBERTO CASPA is a Costa Mesa resident and bilingual writer. He can be reached by e-mail at hcletters@yahoo.com.

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