for Los Angeles Lakers level guard Smush Parker says he was once “born with a basketball.” Both of his oldsters have been ardent gamers, so Parker has been across the recreation since he was once an toddler. Now, despite the fact that, he is much more likely to have a whistle in his hand. Yes, the 41-year-old is taking a look to transform simply the fourth former NBA participant to referee within the league. But he says it is no simple activity to grasp the ropes.
“I never liked refereeing when I was a player,” says Parker, with fun. “I was an up-and-coming player, I wasn’t one of the stars. So, there were a lot of calls that didn’t go in my favour.”
Parker says if he makes the NBA as a ref, he won’t engage in the “unwritten rule” that the big stars get the calls. He knows everyone in the league is playing for a job, much like he was back in the day. The former guard, who initially signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002 after going undrafted out of Fordham University, says he remembers the day he got his first NBA contract and how meaningful it was to him. He ended up playing for both LA teams – the Clippers and Lakers.
“The coolest thing about playing in LA is playing for Hollywood,” says Parker. “You’ve got Jack Nicholson sitting courtside. Denzel Washington, who is also a New York guy from Fordham, sitting on the opposite side of the court. There are famous actresses, stars. You look around and you’re like, ‘These are the entertainers of the world and they’re here to be entertained by us.’ It was a pretty cool atmosphere.”
After his six years in the NBA, which ended in 2008, Parker played in China, Russia and Greece. On his travels, he took note of the different styles of play, from the athletic NBA to the more physical foreign offerings. He wasn’t so much watching the referees then, he says, as learning the different approaches to the game. But when Parker decided to take up the whistle, he found clarity.
“Heading toward the end of my playing days,” Parker says, “I started to realize I wasn’t going to be able to play basketball forever. So, I gave thought to what I was going to do for the next 20 years of my life – I gave it a lot of thought. I knew I didn’t want to go directly into coaching, I knew I didn’t want to go directly into training. Then the referee idea just popped into my head. I was like, ‘You know what? That’s it!’”
Parker recalls being paid $15 a recreation to referee early life basketball as a teen in his place of birth of New York City. Today, the profession is a bit more profitable – best NBA referees make greater than $250,000 a 12 months.
“For a 13-year-old back in the 90s, getting $15 a game, that was a lot of money!” Parker says.
With his revel in as a participant (and now reliable), the previous ground common is aware of that it doesn’t matter what, one crew goes to be proud of a decision and the opposite crew goes to be disenchanted. “Officiating is a thankless job,” he says. “It’s not for the weak-hearted.”
But he additionally is aware of violations like fouls and touring invariably occur and one crew has to inevitably lose, although their enthusiasts assume that it is ceaselessly the refs’ fault when that occurs. He’s given out technical fouls, he is garnered proceedings and mean-mugging. It’s all a part of the process. But Parker additionally sticks out. In a occupation that ceaselessly options nameless folks, this can be a recognized amount.
“For me,” he says, “it’s different. Everybody knows who I am. That takes a toll sometimes, when players, coaches and fans can make it more personal because they know your name.”
Parker, who was given the nickname Smush by his mother when he was a baby, began to put in work for his new profession as soon as the refereeing epiphany came to him. He took the requisite written classes and passed. Then he passed the on-court tests, which quiz a hopeful ref on where they’re supposed to stand, how certain calls are made and the like. Then he got into real games to build up his experience level. “Every game is a learning experience,” he says. To date, he’s officiated in a semi-pro competition, The Basketball League. He’s also refereed junior college games, varsity and junior varsity high school games and high-level AAU games. He’s been to several NBA refereeing camps, too.
“I’m leaving it all in God’s hands,” says Parker. “Nothing is guaranteed. It’s very competitive. I tell people all the time, it may be harder for me to make it to the NBA as an official than it was even as a basketball player.”
In the NBA, there are between 450 and 500 roster spots but only 70-80 full-time officials. Even as a former player in the pros, Parker says there was a lot he didn’t know about the rules, regulations and nuances of the game – things he’s learning about much more today in his ref studies. He also says he has more patience when it comes to the players he officiates, because he knows what it was like to be in their shoes. But Parker says he can’t think like a basketball player anymore, instead he has to think like an official.
“I have to retire ‘Smush Parker’ and move on as ‘William Parker, the referee,'” he says.
To do so, he says he’s talked with several standout referees, including Haywoode Workman, one of the three former NBA players to become refs (the others are Bernie Fryer and Leon Wood). Parker, who has the highest career scoring average among the four, has also talked with NBA referee Zach Zarba, who he calls a “mentor.” Although he has access to these accomplished officials, Parker says his journey to ref in the NBA still won’t be easy.
“It’s not going to be handed to me just because I’m a former NBA player,” he says. “That’s been spoken loudly to me. It’s not just going to be given to me.”
Parker is part of the NBA Grassroots Referee Program. With progress, it will be elevated to more competitive games. Future benchmarks include top AAU tournaments, NBA Summer League games and those in the developmental G-League. “It’s a matter of being consistently great at play-calling, [being] sharp on mechanics, and being fit,” he says.
As he continues, Parker says he has “much more empathy and sympathy” for referees. It’s not an easy job. As he says, it’s a thankless one. The referee is never 100% right in any situation – at least, if you ask the fans and players. But Parker is OK with that because he appreciates the work. It’s not for the faint of heart. But it is for him.
“We as referees jokingly say all the time when we’re getting trash talk from fans and family members, ‘Here’s a whistle, if you think you can do a better job, come out here!’” he says.
Parker explains that he’s enjoying the full support of his family on his new journey. They give encouragement and help him believe in himself, even when shreds of doubt may creep in along the way. He doesn’t spend a lot of time with former teammates these days, but he believes he’d have their support, too. Officiating is his calling now.
“Officiating offers me a possibility to nonetheless be in the market at the courtroom,” Parker says. “Every time I stroll in the market, I think a part of the sport. It’s amusing to peer the glee on a few of these youngsters’ faces when their coaches inform them who I’m. That admire degree hits a little bit bit other.