PHILADELPHIA – His career at St. Raymond’s in the Bronx now behind him, Kevin Parrom is looking forward to a new lease on life.
The 6-foot-6 Parrom, the No. 18 small forward in the Class of 2009, will begin his new career this fall at South Kent (Conn.) under head coach Kelvin Jefferson.
“Coach Kelvin’s a great guy,” Parrom said last week at the Reebok All-American Camp, where he was chosen to the Upperclass All-Star Game. “I’m looking forward to September, it should be a good experience. A new start, a new beginning. I just have to start all over at South Kent in September.”
Parrom parted ways with St. Ray’s after a much-publicized conflict with St. Ray’s head coach Oliver Antigua. The school has since announced that Antigua would return, but Parrom would not.
Since then, however, Parrom has put the incident behind him and excelled on the summer circuit. In Philly, he showed a diversified game, hitting several 3-pointers in one game, converting a breakaway dunk, powering down low for a layup and throwing an alley oop pass to teammate Mike Poole.
“That’s what I do,” he said.
After Parrom announced his decision to attend South Kent, former St. Ray’s teammate Omari Lawrence followed suit. But the 6-4, 185-pound Lawrence, the No. 32 shooting guard in the 2009 Class, is out for several months with a separated shoulder, potentially until Oct. 1.
“He’s home resting his shoulder,” Parrom said. “He’s trying to come back early but I told him to rest. He’s very frustrated. He’s upset. He wants to rest up so he can play later.”
Jefferson, a first-year coach at South Kent, is bringing in Parrom, Lawrence, former Cardinal McCarrick All-State selection Mike Burwell and potentially Danny Jennings, formerly of Oak Hill.
“With Burwell, Parrom and Lawrence, I got three guards who can score and put the ball in the basket,” Jefferson said. “They all share the ball and I’m excited about that. You need good guards to win and those two (Parrom and Lawrence) are real good guards.”
As far as colleges, Parrom said he a long list of offers and hopes to cut it down during August. He listed Marquette, Xavier, St. John’s, Rutgers, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Providence as those recruiting him the hardest, though Xavier is hot on his trail and hoped to gain a commitment this summer.
“I can’t even answer that because all of them are recruiting me hard,” Parrom said. “I don’t have (any) favorites. I’m going to start chopping down my list in August.”
Rutgers and St. John’s have both offered, but it remains unclear if Parrom wants to stay close to home or head out.
“Before when I was a freshman I was trying to stay home but now I’m getting older I may have to peak out to a school in the West,” he said.
