D’Angelo Parker grew up in Tallassee. He sported the purple and gold on the basketball court from middle school until his senior season. A Tiger through and through, he’s back in his hometown but this time with a whistle and a lot more responsibility. Parker is taking over as the boys basketball coach.
His love of basketball has brought him back to the place where it all started.
“I wanted to get into coaching, because I felt like that was the next closest thing to playing,” Parker said. “Once I got into coaching, I realized how much I really liked it, I (realized) this is my passion. And now here I am, four years later, back home. I’m excited about this upcoming year. It feels good to be back home. I never thought I’d be coming back so soon.”
Parker made his mark on the court as a player, averaging about 25 points a game as a senior. Ahead of this basketball season, he’s preparing schemes and strategies to give his team the best shot at the playoffs. That starts with developing each player, honing every fundamental skill: ball handling, passing and shooting.
“You can’t play the game if you don’t have the skills to back it,” Parker said. “As far as my scheme and playing style, I’m still trying to figure it out. I think with this team, we’re going to play fast (and) control the tempo. We want to push and advance if we can, but if it’s not warranted then we’re going to get into some early offense.”
Like all good coaches, Parker is planning on taking the experience day by day. As he settles into the responsibility, he’ll get a better understanding of the program and its players, and develop a solid scheme based off of that knowledge. Until then, Parker will focus on developing his players and getting them fired up for the season.
“(I want to keep) going back to the basics,” he said. “Implementing competitive drills and keeping it fun as well, not just boring drills, but making it competitive and fun. Setting timers for certain drills and making practice fun and competitive and up-tempo.”