TNT active consultant Mark Dickel only has high praises for Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., strongly believing that the second-generation cager could go down as one of the greats to ever grace the Philippine cage scene.
“He’s a two-guard so he’s got the size to play that position,” he told Coaches Unfiltered, presented by SMART.
“I think he can go down as one of the great, great players in the Philippines to ever play here. I think he’s really that good.”
The Kiwi mentor said that he has been a believer of the 27-year-old from the moment he saw him for the first time. He shared as much with PBA great Jimmy Alapag, who mentored Parks in Alab Pilipinas in the ABL.
“I just thought he’s great the first time I saw him. We played against him. I thought he was unique and then I talked to Jimmy about him — I can tell Jimmy and him have a great relationship,” recalled Dickel.
So the former Olympian felt extremely thrilled when he finally had the opportunity to take Parks under his wing. TNT picked up the well-traveled cager following a trade with Blackwater last PBA season.
Dickel admitted that it was hard for him to let go of Don Trollano and Tony Semerad given their worth to the squad. Still, he had to push through with the trade given his aim to “build something that would be unique.”
“We’re very, very lucky to have Ray. There’s absolutely no reservations I had when we made the trade, even though… You know, to me, we gave up a lot on that trade,” Dickel said.
“I love Don Trollano. I really like Tony Semerad. They were hard pieces for us to give up to get Ray. And it kinda rattled the team a little bit, we were 7-and-0 when we made the trade,” he added, recalling their Governors’ Cup campaign that ended up in a semifinal loss to Meralco. “But we really had to make that trade in order to build something that would be unique here.”
And so far in the season taking placae inside the bubble in Clark, that decision has been paying dividends. TNT is currently atop the standings with a perfect 5-0 slate, and a major reason behind that is Parks.
The 6-foot-4 combo guard has been averaging 23.0 points on 63-percent shooting from the field. He also has 6.5 rebounds, 3.75 assists, and 1.25 steals in 38.3 minutes of playing time across four games.
His finest performance yet came during his season debut versus Terrafirma last Oct. 13. Parks had a career-high 40 points on 72-percent shooting from the field on top of 11 boards to lead the Tropang Giga to a 112-101 win.
For Dickel, that’s all a result of the work Parks has put in heading into the season, particularly with his body. “Over the lockdown we spoke, if not daily every second or third day. I really stressed to him that he was 225 pounds — I wanted him to get down to under 200 pounds. Right now he is at 201 pounds and I think that’s about right for him,” he said.
“He’s six-foot-four, he has nine-percent body fat, he’s right where we want him to be and he’s an athlete. And the questions I had about Ray had absolutely nothing to do with Ray. It was actually, will he buy it and will he actually lose the weight? Because I knew if he did, the sky’s the limit man. He can play anywhere in the world and I really believe that,” Dickel added.
More than the ability and the work ethic, though, what the 43-year-old coach admires about Parks is his character as an individual. And that’s why he’s doing what he can to help him become the best he could be.
“He’s so coachable — he’s just the total opposite of what people think,” he said. “He’s a great kid, he wants to learn, he’s got no ego. And staying over here in the Philippines, I noticed that the really talented kids are the ones that get hit the hardest so I had a real affinity straight away to him. I noticed his talent and I noticed his ability. I just wanted to help him generate that.
“To me, there’s no questions about him in his character and personality. He’s fit right with the team, he gets on great with everybody. So pretty much all the things you’ve heard about him is the total opposite.”
