After a week that included a 40-point performance against UAB, the American Conference named Sincere Parker its player of the week. Parker finished with 40 points, six rebounds and two assists against the Blazers, and he followed that up with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals against Charlotte.
It’s been an interesting last few weeks for Parker. He left the January 21 game against Tulsa with an ankle injury and missed the next game against Wichita State.
Since then, he has appeared as questionable on every conference player’s availability report, but he has played 20 or more minutes off the bench since returning against FAU. Parker scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting in his first game back against the Owls, but he followed that up with a 1-for-8 shooting performance against Tulane.
Entering Thursday night’s game against the Blazers, Parker has only recorded 20 or more points twice this season, but he took his game to another level inside Bartow Arena. Parker entered the game off the bench and quickly scored 16 points in a four-minute spurt, and he finished the first half with 22 points in 12 minutes.
The guard recorded 40 points in only 26 minutes and added six rebounds and two assists.
Parker followed that performance up with another double-digit outing against the 49ers and finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. While he didn’t have another 40 points in him, he made an impact off the bench and affected the game in more ways than just scoring.
Over the last two games, Parker is shooting 58 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from three-point range, and he didn’t miss a free throw on eight attempts. On the season, he’s averaging 11.3 points and 3.1 rebounds, and he’s shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from deep.
While he’s second on the team in scoring, he has only started three games this season, and he hasn’t started a game since the non-conference matchup against Vanderbilt on December 17.
Parker is the second Tiger to be named the conference player of the week after Zach Davis was named POTW on December 8, after averaging 16.5 points and 11 rebounds against New Orleans and Baylor.