By Matthew Hatfield

Correspondent

King’s Fork guard Rod Parrett made his presence felt on the basketball floor during the past three years with the Bulldogs, helping them to a 58-20 record during that span and a Southeastern District Tournament title in 2013. Now, Parrett will try to make an impact at the next level, committing to Louisburg Junior College Hurricanes in North Carolina.

Parrett was also recruited by Mount Olive and Virginia Wesleyan colleges.

“To be able to say that I can play college basketball, it means a lot,” Parrett said. “Whether it was D-1, D-2, D-3 or JUCO, it means a lot.”

Louisburg is coming off a 35-2 season as one of the top JUCO programs in the country. In three seasons under Mark Vanderslice, the Hurricanes have compiled a record of 97-11. They have been successful recruiting the Tidewater area in recent years.

“When I went to visit, it was somewhere that I felt I fit in at and a good environment,” Parrett said. “What I think I can bring is being able to defend. Also, I think me being able to shoot is going to help.” He will likely play either guard spot for Louisburg and but he’s ready to be flexible.

“Whatever position they want me to play, I’m willing to,” he said. “I want to be able to have another winning record there like they did last year. They’ve done pretty good, and I want to help them continue that.”

Parrett’s got a big boost in confidence during his eighth-grade year, when he went against returning players on the junior varsity squad and held his own, signaling he’d have a chance to make his mark with the Bulldogs and beyond.

This past season was Parrett’s finest, averaging 12.5 points per game while making a team-high 41 three-pointers en route to being named All-Suffolk First Team.

“He set the tone of what we did each game, depending on whether it was defensively or offensively with how things were going,” King’s Fork head basketball coach Josh Worrell said. “He’s just been a tremendous asset for us here at King’s Fork, and hopefully he can continue that on at Louisburg and the next step further after that. We really feel he’s going to a place where he can thrive and have the best opportunity to do that.”

Parrett had a knack for clutch shots and key moments with the Bulldogs. Perhaps his best game came in the opening round of the Eastern Region Tournament, when he scored 24 points in a victory over Green Run, doing so without a three-pointer, widely regarded as the specialty of his game.

“They’re getting a great hard-working kid who’s not going to give up, make the best of every situation and push himself to the limit,” Worrell said.

“When he was down there, they actually liked him playing the point, which as people saw this year with us, we didn’t have a definite guy who I wanted to make sure had the ball every time coming down the floor. That gave him an opportunity to run the point some here and allowed him to show those skills and attributes that he has.”

In stature, Parrett isn’t all that imposing, standing just 5-foot-9. But don’t let that fool you.

“He’s a strong kid, not going to get pushed around, very quick and athletic. He never wanted to be questioned by his height, and at the college level people get questioned by that and how good they are all the time,” Worrell said.

“What he did here was make big shot after big shot the past couple years. His game has developed over the past couple years, and showed he is more than a one-dimensional player.”