BROOKLYN — Tony Parker skipped a Georgetown visit this weekend in order to compete with the Playaz Basketball Club at the IS8 league in Queens.
And it could pay off with a championship on Sunday.
The 6-foot-9, 280-pound Parker put up 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks Saturday as the Playaz beat Mount Vernon, 73-66, in the semifinals.
UCLA-bound point guard Kyle Anderson added 12 points, seven assists, seven steals, six rebounds and four blocks for the Playaz, who will face the New York Panthers in Sunday’s championship at 11 a.m.
The Panthers downed Our Savior New American, 77-76, behind 25 points from Miami-bound guard Melvin Johnson and 15 points and eight rebounds from St. John’s commit Amir Garrett.
“It took me a while to get used to it,” said Parker, the Rivals No. 5 center in the Class of 2012 out of Lithonia (Ga.) Miller Grove. “But once I got it going, I played pretty well.”
Parker said he especially enjoyed playing with Anderson, who later was named Co-MVP of the Sharette Dixon Classic after putting up 21 points in New Jersey’s 133-101 loss to New York Saturday night at Bishop Loughlin High School.
“It was great,” said Parker, who watched the Sharette Dixon game from the bench. “I played with Kyle for a long time now, so it was just like a reunion basically.”
Parker is still considering Memphis, Duke, Georgetown, Ohio State and UCLA, meaning he could potentially join Anderson under Ben Howland in Los Angeles.
He said he still plans to visit Georgetown, probably “in early November.”
“I postponed it,” he said. “I’ll do another one. Right now, I’m just having fun.”
In the meantime, he heads on an official to Duke next weekend.
“Coach K’s really been recruiting me hard,” Parker said. “Every school’s really been recruiting me really, really hard. They’ve all been doing a great job with my recruitment and I commend all of them.”
Wherever he goes, Parker figures he can help a team win.
“I’ll be a great big man, run the floor,” he said. “A great four man, be able to finish on both sides of the rim and go over both shoulders. Really provide my team an opportunity to win.”
He hopes to get his decision over before the start of the high school season so he can enjoy his senior year.
“I’m looking forward to getting it over with,” Parker said. “Really focusing in on my season. We got a big year this year.
“This is my last season so I want to focus in and have fun.”
