Parker becomes leader for Air Force basketball

Air Force senior forward Grant Parker has taken on some new roles this season.

Starter. Scorer. Leader.

That’s a lot to shoulder for a player who averaged just 4.7 points and 14.3 minutes in 45 career games heading into this season. But Parker’s welcomed the increased responsibility.

“Everything kind of changes when you know you’re a senior,” Parker said this week as the Falcons prepared for the Reggie Minton Classic, which will be held at Clune Arena this Friday and Saturday. “And I didn’t really think that it would. I thought that I’d worked really hard in previous summers. But going into this year, just knowing that I’m leading a team again, that I have other guys looking at me, you definitely approach practice, everything a lot differently because you know it’s your last time around.”

Parker prepared for his new roles during the offseason. He spent several weeks in Indiana – where he grew up and his parents recently relocated – and during that time he worked out with players from Valparaiso. He also trained with his cousin, Erik Rhinehart, who spent last year playing professionally in Austria.

Parker worked hard on his perimeter game, as he now is playing more on the wing than in the post because of the emergence of centers Sammy Schafer and Taylor Broekhuis. Parker has always been a good shooter – last year he made a team-high 48.0 percent of his 3-pointers – but he had to work on “driving, getting to the basket and my in-between game, one-dribble pull-ups,” he said.

“He had a terrific offseason and summer,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. “He put a lot of time and effort into his game.”

Reynolds said Parker has “a lot of confidence right now,” and that showed in the Falcons’ opener. He scored a career-high 26 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead Air Force to a 65-54 victory over Western State.

“The way I see it is he realizes this is it for him,” Schafer said. “And he’s got to be the leader and he’s also got to do as much as he can on the court.”

AIR FORCE IN THE REGGIE MINTON CLASSIC

3 THINGS TO WATCH

1. WILL AIR FORCE APPEAR RESTED OR UNTESTED?
The Falcons have played just one regular season game – last Friday’s season-opening victory over Western State – while tonight’s opponent, Dickinson State, has played six. Both teams Air Force could play on Saturday (Northern Colorado and Texas Southern) have played three games. The lack of games shouldn’t hurt tonight, as the Blue Hawks are a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II squad.

2. FREE THROW SHOOTING
The Falcons struggled from the foul line last season, especially in conference play, when they made just 152 of 245 attempts (62.0 percent). They didn’t exactly get off to an inspiring start in last Friday’s victory over Western State. Air Force made 18 of 32 free throws in the game, including just 12 of 22 in the second half and 4 of 8 down the stretch.

3. AIR FORCE’S FRESHMEN
Three played in the Falcons’ opener – guards Michael Lyons and Todd Fletcher and center Taylor Broekhuis. Lyons played 28 minutes and scored seven points with three rebounds and an assist. And Broekhuis played 13 solid minutes. “He’s very versatile,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said of Broekhuis. “He can play with his back to the basket, he can play facing, he’s an exceptional passer and he understands what we are trying to get accomplished here because of his year at the prep school."

Quote to Note: “I think with freshmen, they’re going to have their ups and downs. And I think as a coach and our coaching staff, we have to do a really good job of trying to keep their mindset positive and keep their confidence up.” –Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds

Note to Quote: Northern Colorado, which won five of its last seven regular season games last season, is off to a 3-0 start.