Love of game drives Parrott

Through the ups and downs of his basketball career there was always one constant for James Parrott.

His love for the game.

It was that passion and desire that not only kept his hoops career alive, but just might make the Bellevue University junior an All-American this season.

"He's a kid who loves the game of basketball," BU coach Shane Paben said. "He's a late bloomer who just kept developing."

Parrott admits he was nothing more than a mop-up player during his high school days at Bryan, but Dana College in Blair saw enough in him to give him a chance to play.

After one uneventful season at Dana, he transferred to UNO. The coaching staff told him he would be best served to try out after the season, so he spent the year playing on an intramural squad. He never did try out.

But as a gym rat, Parrott couldn't pry himself away from the court. During one of the many summer league games he played, he caught the attention of Bruin assistant coach Jason Isaacson.

"I knew him a little because I was a player at Dana his freshman year," Isaacson said. "I saw him playing a pick-up game and it caught my attention."

Parrott said his fortitude to stay on the court was what finally landed him a spot in the Bruin program.

"I spent so much time in the gym, learning from the older players I would go against," Parrott said. "I loved basketball so much, I wasn't going to stop playing."

While Parrott's game grew, his body continued to grow as well. Barely reaching 6-foot in his high school playing days, Parrott shot up to nearly 6-3 by his third year of college.

In his first season with the Bruins, Parrott saw action in 34 games without any starts. He averaged just under six points per game. Not the kind of numbers legends are made of.

In his off-season meeting with Paben, Parrott was instructed on what it would take for him to play a bigger role in the Bruin program.

"I laid out three areas I told him he needed to get better in during the off-season," Paben said. "He came back this year and was better in all three.

"He's the first kid I've coached that's ever done that."

That improvement has resulted in Parrott averaging more than 19 points per game, tops on a Bruin team that is ranked seventh in the nation with a 17-4 record. He's also second in rebounding at nearly six per night and is third on the team in assists.

He's already had three 30-plus scoring games this season, including a career-high 35 in a Dec. 29 victory over Carroll College.

"He's gone from averaging five a game to 20 a game," Paben said. "You just don't see players do that."

"What's even more amazing is that he's shooting 61 percent, which is almost unheard of for a guard."

It's a career path Parrott would have hardly predicted when he graduated from Bryan in 2008.

"Never in my mind did I think I'd be where I am today," Parrott said. "I think playing with older players the past couple of years has made me tougher."

Parrott has also become something of a human highlight reel this season. He's good for at least a couple of dunks a game and had back-to-back alley-oop slams in a recent win over Central Baptist.

"I couldn't even dunk until I got out of high school," he said "Probably my best dunk was when I jumped over (6-11) Ousseynou (Diop) in practice one day."

While all the individual accolades and attention has been great, Parrott's focus lies solely on getting the Bruins back to the NAIA National Tournament and bringing home a title.

"I want to win a championship," Parrott said. "I've never been a part of that and I want that feeling."

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