By Cathy Spaulding
Pro basketball coach Charlie Parker recalled feeling pretty comfortable after 10 years as assistant Dallas Mavericks coach.
But a new coach had other plans — and his own staff. And Parker spent a year looking for work.
“All of a sudden, I had no income, no job,” he said. “But I maintained my faith and belief that God is going to make things right.”
Parker, who signed on as assistant coach for the New Orleans Hornets this week, will share his faith, plus some basketball tips at Praise in the Park on Saturday at Rotary Park.
Starr Fisher, an event coordinator, said organizers wanted this year’s Praise in the Park to address “the total aspects of a person: Physical, emotional and spiritual.”
The event, an annual kickoff for summer, will run all day Saturday and feature several sessions: A Health and Wellness Session featuring free health screenings, an entertainment session featuring music and drama, a career and education session and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Parker will conduct a mini basketball clinic and give a motivational speech after the tournament.
Fisher said Muskogee Multicultural Coordinator Cassandra Gaines helped secure Parker for the event.
“And he was really enthusiastic about coming,” she said. “It was his idea to do the clinic.”
Parker said the clinic will give him the opportunity to talk to kids and give a motivational speech.
“I’ll be telling them to keep their grades up and work hard,” he said.
He said he will stress the value of maintaining a faith in God.
“We fall down, but we get up,” he said. “Whatever obstacles you face in life, you’ve got to pick yourself up.”
Parker, 54, recalled growing up in Columbus, Ohio, where there was “lots of prejudice in the neighborhood, lots of drugs and crime.”
A graduate of the University of Findlay in Ohio, Parker earned a master’s degree in education from Bowling Green University and returned to coach at Findlay. After six years as assistant coach at Bowling Green, he was the coach at Wayne State University from 1983 to 1988 and went on to the University of Southern California. He joined the Dallas Mavericks in 1996.
Fisher said Praise in the Park also will feature a Dress for Success fashion show.
If You Go
WHAT: Praise in the Park.
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Rotary Park, 24th and Arline Streets.
Featuring: Tips by New Orleans Hornets Assistant Coach Charlie Parker, entertainment session, health and wellness fair, career session and 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
PRESENTING SPONSORS: Students Taking A New Direction (STAND) and Faith Deliverance Christian Center.
The high school group Students Working Against Tobacco will present a new dance called crumping, she said.
