MANILA, Philippines -- It looks like Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. will get the kind of exposure that he needs to develop into an NBA type of player with the Texas Legends.
No less than Legends head coach Nick Van Exel and team President Malcolm Farmer are excited to have the former two-time UAAP MVP in their fold after selecting him in the second round (25th overall pick) in the recent NBA D-League Draft.
Van Exel, who played 13 seasons in the NBA including a stint in Dallas Mavericks from 2002-03, thinks Parks, Jr. is the type of player who can be a leader in the locker room.
"I love Bobby Ray Parks. I thought when he played this summer with the Mavericks Summer League team, he’s a guy who can shoot the ball well. He can attack the basket. He’s a great defender, he plays the passing lanes, goes after steals," said Van Exel, who took the reins from another former Maverick Eduardo Najera.
“He’s a quiet player, but he gets the job done. I think he’s the type of player that can be a leader in your locker room, just by the way he works. He’s a hard worker. He just wants good things to happen for himself and the team. So I’m really excited about Bobby," he added.
Parks, Jr. started the NBA Summer League tentatively but picked up his game in the last three games.
In six games, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.5 minutes of play.
He jacked up his stats when the minutes came.
He repaid the trust of Dallas Summer League coach Kaleb Canales with solid numbers of 5.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals with no single turnover in 16.7 minutes of playing time as the Mavericks won two of their last three outings. His best game came against the NBA D-League Select in the second round of the playoffs where he contributed a personal-best 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and one assist without a turnover in 21 minutes.
Farmer described Parks as "a young man from the Philippines who has a lot of upside and could really develop into an effective player for us."
The son of former seven-time PBA Best Import Bobby Ray Parks, Sr. will join Satnam Singh, the Mavericks' 52nd overall pick in the NBA Draft along with returning Legends George Beamon, Michael Eric and Sherron Collins. Twelve more players who were either taken in from the D-League Draft, trades and local tryouts will join them in the Training Camp roster.
Parks, Jr. and the rest of the roster are expected to report starting on Nov. 2 and they will be trimmed down to 12 players before their season opener against the Austin Spurs, who also selected former Lyceum Pirates Nigerian import Jean Victor Nguidjol in the first round (16th overall pick).