Smoosh Parker never afraid to overcome adversity. After going without a pension after completing his tenure at Fordham University, he built a professional career that spanned 16 years. That included five in the NBA, mostly with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant.
Now, with his career over, he has set himself an even greater challenge.
“I’ve said it and I’ll keep saying it. It’s a harder journey to get to the NBA as a referee than as a player.”Parker said Sports news.
“That’s saying a lot, because 0.03% of high school players make it to the NBA. For me, the journey to become an NBA referee will be more difficult.”
While that statement may be hard to believe, Parker explains that it’s a numbers game. There are 450 player slots on this course. But the league only employs about 70 or 80 full-time umpires.
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“It’s such a competitive environment” Parker commented. “There are so many now who want to become league referees… The opportunities are much less.”
Only three Players in NBA history to transfer to major league colleges: Bernie Fryer, Leon Wood and Haywood Workman. Parker will try to become the fourth. It was an idea that occurred to him in the last years of his career.
“When I was in the league I thought I was going to play this forever,” recognized the former Lakers. “It was only later, when I felt my playing days were coming to an end, that I started thinking about what I’m going to do with the next 40 years of my life.”
Parker considered becoming a coach or gymnast, but felt he wasn’t ready to pursue those fields. After years of brainstorming, he came up with the idea of arbitration.
“When I came to that conclusion, the light bulb went on”Parker said. “Like thinking, ‘Yeah, that’s where I’m going.’
Parker went straight to the referee after leaving the game. It was a natural transition for him because “Many players think we are referees when we play”. He quickly found out how wrong he was.
“It was a rude awakening for me” reflects today’s collective. “I knew nothing about this great game. I just knew how to play it at a high level. There are a lot of rules, a lot of technical details.”
Parker was also surprised to learn how structured the arbitration is. Each official is responsible for covering a portion of the field, not the entire field. This makes placement extremely important.
“The technique, the form, the way you show yourself, it’s almost like ballet instead of hip hop.” follow. “Ballet is a very structured dance. Hip hop is free. It flows. It’s not refereed like that.”
Parker took an engineering class to learn where to stand. He learned the correct vocabulary to use when talking to the scorer’s table about the type of foul. Study the various rulebooks for the high school, college, and professional levels. Memorize the most complex rules.
And yet, he is still far from his NBA goal. There are levels to arbitration. Parker is somewhere in the middle of his journey.
“I’ve played in the NBA, so I’m on a crash course. I’m starting a little bit ahead of the rest.” Parker said. “It would take anybody else no less than 10 years. It’s about being consistent in making good decisions and reading the right plays, going through all the levels.”
“When you dominate at the high school level you go to the NCAA and from there you move up to each division. It takes years of being good at one level to move on to the next.”
Parker’s racing career has helped him in many ways, but it also has a downside.
“Because of my background and who I am, the hardest part is the people I am.”lamented the former player. “They know me by name. They make everything personal. It’s not, ‘Hey ref, that was a bad call.’
“It’s all personal every time I’m at a game. You can block when someone says ‘hey ref’. Parents, fans, players, you try to isolate yourself. But as soon as you call your name, it gets your attention.”
Parker has a thick skin when it comes to insults.. He grew up playing on the streets of New York against stronger people who tried to beat him because he was the smallest on the floor. This gave him a toughness that allowed him to overcome all kinds of adversity.
“I think this is karma for me”Parker said with a laugh. “It’s definitely karma. Because I didn’t really let the referees live as a player.”
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
