The 5’6” tall and 120 pound athlete has been playing basketball for a while. It wasn’t his first sport. That would have been baseball which he tried at age nine. But just a year later Parker joined a basketball program at a local YMCA and discovered the game fit him. After Parker took up basketball with serious intent, he left behind baseball. Last year, as a seventh-grader at Fort, Parker gave two sports a try that he otherwise had not had any experience playing. Soccer is a fall sport for middle schools, which gave Parker an option for a fall sport before moving into basketball season. It was a learning experience that produces a little laughter when Parker talks about his first attempts as a soccer athlete. “Yeah, I kept getting handballs,” he says. “The ball would come to me and I would catch it in my hands like a basketball.” Parker became a three-sport athlete for the 2012-13 school year when he participated in track and field for the Patriots. The spring sport offered him a chance to continue to stay active year round while also keeping him in shape for
the summer, when he puts on a Georgia Kings uniform. After his basketball season winds down, Parker will put on his track shoes and hopefully participate in the mile, the 800m and 4x400m events for Fort. He wants to keep in shape for summer basketball and also has hopes of playing high school ball in the years ahead. Parker has made a decision to attend Shaw High School next year (where his brother is a senior) and is even setting the lofty goal of attending the University of Kentucky in the future as a basketball player. There is a lot of road to cover before then starting with middle school basketball season in January. His passion for the game is demonstrated when asked what he loves most about playing basketball. “Everything,” he answers. ITG
Getting to know Kameren Family: Mother, Sonya Whittlesey; one brother and a sister
Person he most admires: Kobe Bryant (for his scoring)
Pets: Two dogs, Lincoln and Lacy
Clothing he prefers to wear: Jordans
Favorite food: Bacon Favorite place to eat: Red Robin Game time ritual: Pray before games Favorite team: Knicks Athlete he admires: Aaron Williams
Church he attends: Christ Holy Temple Favorite subject: Language Arts Best thing about Fort Middle School: The atmosphere; everybody knowing everybody.