Welcome to Cal De’End Parker!

Guard De’End Parker, a current sophomore at City College of San Francisco, has committed to play for the Golden Bears. Parker is a versatile player who can play either point guard or on the wing.

Parker was also considering Pac-10 schools Arizona State and UCLA. Parker averaged 23 points per game as a senior at Lincoln High School in San Francisco, and led them to a city championship. Parker has led his current team to a 27-1 record while averaging 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. The kid’s has won every stop he’s been at, and hopefully he continues as a Bear.

Parker figures to fit into a role quickly, as he can fill in at any guard position. At 6-5, 215, he probably won’t be running the point very much at the Division I level. However, his build is perfect for what this team needs. A tall, long perimeter defender is an asset to have, especially with the huge amounts of struggles the Bears have had on the defensive end. He probably won’t score a lot, but this team has enough scorers. What they’ll need next year is guys who can do the other things, which De’End can do.

Looking at the tape, you can see Parker is an athlete. The kid can jump out of the gym, and can finish with a dunk at the rim. While he’s thin, he clearly has the type of athleticism that can turn it into a great perimeter defender and athlete in the open court. He has no problem finishing when he gets to the hole, and it looks like he has no problems getting there.

However, highlight tape can only reveal so much. Does he have a jumpshot? Is he a good passer? Can he actually defend, or does he just have the body for it? While I really think he can play well at the defensive end, the other two are question marks. The few passes I saw didn’t look spectacular, but I can’t judge anybody off a few passes. His jump shot is another thing we’ll have to wait and see on; it’s something that you have to watch in action in real game scenarios to get a feel for.

Overall, this is a big pick-up for the Bears. He should slide in as a potential replacement for Jorge in 2012, while also providing solid minutes off the bench. He probably won’t end up being an All Pac-10 player, but few do. Getting a solid performer like Parker will hopefully be is a solid pick-up for Montgomery. Welcome to Cal!