PV Boys Basketball recently had their “senior night” on Feb. 18, where senior basketball players were recognized. However, one senior player has had a rough final season: senior Jacob Parker.
Parker was a starter at the beginning of the year for the team; however, he had to fight through multiple injuries within the year. During the first game of the year, Parker suffered an ankle sprain. He only missed one game with the injury, and returned in a game against North Scott.
Later in the season, Parker suffered a more severe injury in a game against Davenport Assumption. He got tied up going for a rebound and came down hard on his shoulder. Parker was able to continue playing in the game. However he later learned that the extent of his injury would force him to end his senior season early, as he tore his shoulder labrum and needed surgery to repair it.
Parker talked about how it hit him once he realized he would be out for the remainder of the season. “I was upset because I’ve put countless hours into this team and I feel like I could have helped my team this year,” Parker said. “However I can’t do anything at the moment but look forward [to] after that moment.”
Parker’s injury hurt the team’s plans on the court, but it didn’t seem to have much effect on the mental side of things. Junior basketball player Jacob Townsend commented on how Parker still helped the team. “JP has still been our glue guy. He gets on us and coaches us when we are struggling, and is our best friend and biggest fan off the court,” Townsend said. “It takes a ton of commitment for a guy to show up to every early morning lift and every practice even when it’s not for them.”
The dedication to the team that Parker held led to a moment on senior night for the basketball team. The team decided that they were going to have Parker start the game despite his injury.
Townsend was glad about this opportunity to have Parker start one more game. “We talked about how it’s not fair to him that he was robbed of his senior season, and we needed to let him leave it on a positive note.”
Parker was listed as a starter for the game and was recognized as so, then was substituted out so that he could avoid injury. Parker explained how it felt to start one more game. “Being able to start against Muscatine was a really cool opportunity,” Parker said. “I am just grateful to have teammates that are willing to do things like this for me.”
The injury left Parker with nearly a year until he can fully participate in athletics again. However, Parker is still fully in for his team.
