Vipers select former Lakers point guard Parker with top pick

EDINBURG - The Rio Grande Valley Vipers selected a point guard with their top pick in the NBA Development League draft for the second year in a row. Friday night, instead of taking an unknown commodity they took someone with a recognizable name and game.

C.J. Watson, who the Vipers took in the 2007 draft, was signed last year by the Golden State Warriors after a brief stay with RGV. Friday night, the Vipers chose NBA veteran William Henry "Smush" Parker with their first-round pick, No. 12 overall. Parker shared a backcourt with reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant when he was the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

Parker averaged 9.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 274 career NBA games. In '06-07 with the Lakers he started 80 games and averaged 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Vipers assistant coach Robert Pack played against Parker in the NBA. He was pleased with the selection.

"Great pick. Good player. Leader. Veteran. He's been there," Pack said. "He's motivated to get back (to the NBA). That a good combination."

Vipers coach Clay Moser, himself a former NBA scout, was pleased to have a player of Parker's stature drop to No. 12 in the 16-team draft. He also cited the addition of power forward/center Alton Ford in the regional allocation as giving the team the flexibility to select a point guard with its first-round selection.

"The biggest key was getting Ford in the regional thing," Moser said. "There are not very many bigs to be had, and then they got snatched up right away. We were surprised (Parker) was still there at 12. I think he's a guy that just absolutely will tear this league up. I don't suspect he'll be a guy that'll be here all year long. He's a marketable guy and has something to prove. That should help even more."

The Vipers grabbed former DePaul small forward Delonte Holland (6-7) in the second round, and then took Kurt Looby, a 6-10, 230-pound center from Iowa, in the third round.

Here are the rest of the Vipers' picks: fourth round, Alpha Bangura, shooting guard, St. John's; fifth round, Thomas Sanders, shooting guard, Gardner Webb; sixth round, Boomer Herndon, center, Belmont; seventh round, Jeffrey Day, power forward, Creighton; eighth round, Lance Perique, small forward, Georgia State; ninth round, Keoni Watson, point guard, Idaho; 10th round, J.R. Harrison, small forward/power forward, Rice.

All 10 draftees as well as the seven players (four returnees, two allocation players and one free agent) are expected for the start of camp Nov. 16 at Dodge Arena.

"The way we built our depth chart with the initial seven we felt like we had some flexibility coming into this draft," Moser said. "We also had a very, very grave concern we would not add one of the top tier bigs unless we added Alton. He gave us flexibility, and that let us go with Smush Parker at No. 12."

Chris Richard, a power forward out of Florida who played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was the No. 1 overall selection by Tulsa.

Todd Mavreles covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4451.