Bobby Ray Parks Jr.’s NBA dream (This article is condensed from “Song for my Father”, by Rafe Bartholomew)
Ray-Ray Parks was born and raised in Manila to legendary PBA import Bobby Ray Parks Sr. and Marifer Celine Barbosa 22 years ago. His parents separated with his mom migrating to California and his dad going to Tennessee, leaving Ray and younger sister Celine behind.
They joined their parents in the US in 2006, Ray going to his dad in Memphis, Celine to her mom in LA. With his father’s connections, Ray got an athletic scholarship at a private high school in the suburbs of Memphis. He played for two years, averaging 20 points, in the process being named as Mr. Basketball in all of Tennessee’s private high schools.
He transferred to Melrose, a public high school on his junior year where they won the Tennessee state championship in 2010, finishing in the top 10 of the national rankings. Although he averaged only 8.5 points per game, Ray earned the praise of his coach when he focused more on his defense, giving the spotlight to his teammates.
Because of Sr.’s illness, the family fell on hard times. Sr. travelled to Manila in 2009 for his PBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony and it was during this visit that presented an opportunity for financial salvation for the Parks family. Henry Sy became majority owner of the National University and wanted to hire Parks as the school’s assistant athletic director.
Their economic situation forced Sr. and Jr. to relocate back to the Philippines. It would have been ideal for Ray to stay and play in the US, be exposed to other athletes with NBA-caliber size and talent and eventually play in the big league. But he just couldn’t allow himself to be away from his father knowing that he’s sick.
Ray committed to play for NU but they still explored possibilities for him to play for US Division I teams. He was invited to play at the 2010 Nike Global Challenge in Oregon where he led the All-Asia team versus top amateur talents from Europe and North America that included future NBA top picks Anthony Davis, Andrew Wiggins and Bradley Beal. With an event average of 22 points and a 44.4 percent conversion rate from the 3-point area, he was named to the International All-Tournament Team.
His efforts caught the attention of college scouts, particularly Robert McCullum, then an assistant coach at Georgia Tech. He flew to Manila in October of 2010, saw Ray play and offered him a scholarship. They brought him to Atlanta for a recruiting visit, impressing Georgia Tech’s coaching staff. Before November ended, the school announced that Ray had signed a letter of intent to join the Yellow Jackets’ 2010-2011 freshman class.
The news was a shock for NU’s coaching staff. Coach Eric Altamirano together with his assistants and team managers met with Sr. and Jr. Altamirano said, “I understand where Ray-Ray’s coming from. He has this dream of playing in the NBA so I said, ‘I won’t try to persuade you. What I want is for your own good and you’re already man enough to make that decision.’” Seventeen years old at that time, Ray decided to stay and play for the Bulldogs.
It was a big sacrifice for Ray, saying, “I signed at Georgia Tech but it was better for my family for me to go back home to the Philippines. It pulled me away further from the NBA dream but it really helped us in the long run. Family is the most important thing. My father instilled that in me.”
He debuted for the Bulldogs in July 2011 with the hopes of the NU faithful on his back. “I had to be like mini-LeBron. You have to score, you have to make everybody happy, you have to rebound, you have to defend”. Despite the challenges, he was named league MVP in his first and second season. Ray had the size, speed and strength to dominate. The Bulldogs’ development was rapid but even then, they fell short of the UAAP championships. It was the year after Ray left that NU finally won the title.
After college ball, Ray played in the PBA D-League and when he turned 22, he automatically became eligible for the 2015 NBA Draft as an international player. The Sy family took care of his needs for his shot at the NBA and flew stateside a month before draft night. He hooked up with a brand management firm where he was booked for five pre-draft workouts, performing well in Dallas and Boston. His name was never called on draft night but woke up the following morning to a text message from Dallas GM Donnie Walsh inviting him to the Mavs’ summer league team.
His pre-draft training was focused on NBA point guard skills but he was played at the 2 spot behind NBA vets Jordan Crawford and Darius Miller. Ray got his break when Miller got married and inherited his playing time, responded well and averaged 17 minutes in the team’s last three games. His best game was when Dallas faced the D-League Select, scoring 10 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and had 4 steals.
Ray did not join this year’s PBA Draft hoping for a spot to an NBA training camp set to open next month. If the dream remains elusive, he hopes to get more seasoning in the D-League or in Europe. He’s been through a lot of emotional aches, enduring the deaths of his girlfriend and father, both to cancer. But Ray-Ray Parks has shown the ability to overcome. With this in mind, he just could be the first Philippine-born NBA player.