Next in Line?
by Lon Samuelson
When one thinks of New York City point guards, thoughts of Mark Jackson, Kenny Anderson, and Stephon Marbury are just a few that come to mind. But Smoosh?
Just north of Manhattan at the Rose Hill Gymnasium on the Fordham campus is where one can find the young man who may continue the fine lineage of NYC point guards. William Parker, aka Smoosh, is a lithe 6-3 point guard with an ABA-like afro and an NBA-like game.
At the Marty Glickman Classic versus St. John’s, Smoosh had the Fordham faithful on their feet chanting his name. At one point Smoosh sprinted backcourt to try catch a member of the Red Storm as he looked for the easy layup. At the last second Smoosh seemed to jump out of nowhere sent the ball into the Knicks locker room.
Not only does he bring a boatload of talent as a sophomore transfer from South Idaho Junior College, but also brings a certain Big Apple panache. This past summer I had an opportunity to see a lot of Smoosh at Hunter College for the Nike Pro City tournament. It was here that Smoosh when up against the likes of Jackson, Rafer “Skip to my Lou” Alston, and Nesmith Molloy, aka “Future”. Smoosh held his own and then some with acrobatic moves in the paint and pinpoint passes.
Many feel his future is a very bright one indeed. In the loss to St. John’s he had 18 points, and versus Iona the week before he tallied 30 in the win. If he maintains this pace, Fordham could be destined to go to the big dance for the first time since 1992 and first since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1995.
One agent seems to feel Smoosh is a certain first round pick in the big leagues. Such thoughts may be slightly premature but it’s for certain that the name “Smoosh” will be synonymous with star Big Apple point guards.
