Get To Know : Ramani Parker

GET TO KNOW
 
Ramani Parker    6’4      Forward
Fresno, CA
 
Graduating Class: 2019
 
Central High School – Coach Geoffrey Clayton
 
Fresno Lady Heat – Coach Demetrius Porter
 
 
“She Blew Up Quick, but She’s Not in a Hurry …”
 
 
FAST BREAK FAVORITES
 
WNBA Player: Candace Parker
 
NBA Player: I don’t have a favorite, but I watch a lot of older players: AIlen Iverson, Larry Bird, Shawn Kemp, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal; And some current ones too: Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo
 
Food: Burgers
 
Music: Old School music – Michael Jackson.. Something reasonable. My dad has over 2000 records/vinyl and I enjoy a lot of those.
 
Book: Tom Sawyer (read it twice)
 
Class/Subject: Current Class - Anatomy and my Fashion & Design Class / Math
 
TV Show: The Bernie Mac Show
 
Movie: The Proud Family
 
 
 
Ramani Parker is a fun loving young person, and it was evident as soon as she answered the phone. I could hear the smile and the sincerity in her voice when she said hello and asked me how I was doing and expressed her appreciation for the time it took to do a player feature.
 
I had spent the last few days visiting with her coaches in an effort to understand her as a player a little bit better and to find ways to make our conversation more meaningful and specific to her. Without hesitation both coaches spoke on her endearing qualities as a young woman before they ever mentioned her versatile talent on the basketball court. I could see why, as she was very delightful with which to exchange pleasantries as we outlined what we would discuss over the next hour or so.
 
Ramani Parker is one of the best players in the class of 2019 in the country. However, her name has not been on the recruiting radar since junior high, the way it happens with some players. Whether the emphasis on young talent is beneficial or even relevant as early as junior high is a topic for another time. What is relevant is this: regardless of the timing, Ramani Parker is here now. The last seven months or so prove that.
 
We went back a little further to talk about her early basketball memories. “I remember back in third grade when I started playing basketball,” she sheepishly started, “and it was the last game of the season and I finally scored four points! I kind of came alive in the last game and realized I could get some steals and I finally scored, haha.” She continued to play in rec leagues and remembers that it was around fifth grade that she felt a little more serious about the game. “I made, like.. my first one on one move and scored a jumper and a lot of people came up to me after that game and gave me a lot of compliments. I got more serious after that. My dad and I started practicing more and I started watching Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon and mimicking their fundamentals and movements.”
 
“The more we worked,” said her dad Ralph Parker, “I quickly realized we needed to find her some different level of competition soon. I took her to one of the Shenom Showcase events about the seventh grade and she played against older girls.”
 
“I realized then that I liked the faster pace of their game and I also saw that even though I was younger, I held my own pretty good. That’s when I really got hungry. I wanted to do more than keep up with them,” Ramani recalled.
 
Fast-forward a couple of years and she shared another moment that helped to be a catalyst to her growing love of the game as well as her confidence. “We went to Valley [a round of playoffs] my freshman year and I was coming off the bench at that time. We were playing a rival program with very good players and struggling, but I came in and gave us a quick boost by scoring a quick eight points. We ended up losing the game, but I just felt after that game that this was something I could do.”
 
Skip again a couple years later to May of 2017 and she found herself at the U16 USA Trials in Colorado Springs, CO. “That experience was everything. The matchups, the competition… And then making the final group. That was the most serious intense basketball I had ever played. I took a lot away from those trials and it has really helped me to where I am after the summer and going into my junior year.”
 
   
I spoke to Geoffrey Clayton, Head Coach at Central High School in Fresno, about an hour before their first official practice. They had just finished individual meetings with the players to discuss the season expectations. This is Clayton’s second year at the helm of the program and also Ramani’s second year at the school (she transferred from Edison High School). He says that he has been very focused on building a winning expectation and culture not only with his team, but also from his feeder programs. Last year was the first year the program has gone to the state round of playoffs in a long time. Coach Clayton was very complimentary of the way league opponent Clovis West (to whom they finished second in league play) and coach Craig Campbell have done things for many years.
 
A major part of what could be a turning point year? “Ramani becoming THE player”, he said. “It’s not that she has deferred, but I feel like she’s been a bit too inclusive, let’s say. She is learning that her aggressiveness is what’s best for our team.” Coach Clayton very proudly states that Ramani is all about team and is not caught up into the hype that can come with an elevated status in the basketball world, especially for a player that has quickly come on the scene in a major way in the manner she has in the last seven months. “She could care less. She pays attention during workouts, processes information well, and applies new things to her game rather quickly. We have a strength and conditioning coach who comes in a few times a week, and she’s added strength and 10 pounds in the last two months. She is a very focused young student-athlete.”
 
“She is not one of those players who shies away from adversity. She very much has an ‘I will earn this’ mentality. There is a hunger in her and I never see any signs of burn out. At the same time, she is still a teenage kid and can be just as goofy as the rest of them. It is a nice balance. She definitely knows who she is as a person. She has a bit of an ‘old soul’ and is serious about the right things, but not too serious to where she doesn’t have fun. I think she gets some of that from her dad.”
 
“We are able to create a competitive environment in practice. Imani Lacy [2018 G/W that is considering GCU, UTEP, UNLV, and Nevada] and her really go at it. Jessica Spencer [numerous D2 offers from all over the state of California among others] at the point position is going to help us have a solid season too.”
 
Fresno Lady Heat Coach Demetrius Porter, who himself played at Fresno State and coached collegiately at Delaware State, remembers exactly when he first saw Ramani Parker in the gym. It was at the “Shenom Showcase” that he started to bring some exposure and skill development to the Central Valley. He said, “I saw this skinny kid that was easy going, even keeled, and poised that showed flashes of a very nice skill set. At that age of course her game still needed molding, but she showed a lot of promise.” She started playing for the Heat in the eighth grade and saw some early success that spring. By that summer, it was time to occasionally “throw her to the wolves and play with the 17U team”, Porter shared. “Most impressive thing was she didn’t try to do too much. She stayed poised and affected the game where she could – right away on the defensive end with her length and blocking shots. It made a big difference.”
 
They got in the gym and started working together. “I think a lot of people saw the size and length and thought, ‘post player’, but I saw more of a finesse forward with all around skills. As a young player, I believe she needed the time and freedom to find who she was as a player, so we worked all fundamental aspects of her game. She has an intuitive feel for the game, so there was never a need to over-coach her.”
 
Ramani’s coaches describe her as unselfish, humble, and a caring teammate. She wants everyone to be involved and know that they matter. She leads by having meaningful relationships with everyone and lets her effort be the example.
   
Off the court and in the classroom, Parker excels as well. She is in an ROP (Regional Occupational Program) with her school that allows her to take classes in Fashion and Design. She also has interest in the medical field when her playing days are over. She mentioned neurology and the study of the brain and also helping people with mental disorders or dementia as something she could see herself doing. “Many people don’t know that I have been sketching and sewing clothes for a long time. I learned if from my grandmother. I have done aprons, pajama pants, dresses, and skirts. I like to take old shirts and make different crop tops and things out of them.”


   
As a player who some say as having come on the recruiting scene a little later than some others, Parker doesn’t get caught up in comparing rankings or awards, but understands that she has some very significant opportunities in front of her and intends to realize her potential. “We want to do this thing right,” her dad said on a follow up conversation. “We have needed this process and will continue in the process so she can take official visits. We are focused on the communication right now. With some schools it’s up and down, sometimes heavy and sometimes light. We are just listening and paying attention.” With several suitors there are a handful of schools on which they are very focused. At their first official practice the previous evening was a Head Coach of one of those schools, coincidentally. The coaches have been in and out of the gym in heavy rotation since school started.
 
The USA Basketball experience and adidas All-American Camp really helped Ramani to see what the next level of competition is like across the country. May to August was a quick whirlwind of a summer, but after some time off and getting back to work, things have settled in.  “We have seen a new motor in the fall”, Coach Porter said. “Those experiences helped her mentally to focus on some details and also on her intensity and the consistency of her competing on the floor. Her aggressiveness has changed. She does such a good job of asking questions during workouts and practices. She is able to implement things very quickly. It shows her special instinct for this game.”
 
PARKER ON HER GAME:
“Teammates depend on me to rebound and run the floor – things I know I must continue to do. I have a versatility to my game that allows me to play to my talent; I am mobile and I can anticipate action. I must get better on defense. My dad and my coaches remind me all the time that I must be able to defend a guard if I am going to play guard minutes and everything that comes with that. For so long I ran back to the paint and worked from there, now I can’t just do that. I also need to finish with contact better – part of getting stronger. “
 
SCOUTING REPORT:
 
Our Premier Basketball Report evals have evolved with Ramani’s game.
 
Mark Williams first saw her at the PSB Power 48 in Georgia in the summer of 2016:
 
“Parker is a springy forward that can catch and shoot and create off the bounce. She leaps for rebounds with the best of them; Long arms and blocks/changes shots. She seems to be gaining confidence the more minutes she plays.”
 
Jason Key after the USA Trials in May of 2017:
 
“One of my favorite players at the trials; Terrific shot blocker, especially from the weak side. She took bigger matchups to the rim and also showed legitimate range out to the 3-point line. As skilled as she is, she still shows that she is just scratching the surface.”
 
Shane Laflin at the adidas Gauntlet Finale in July 2017:
 
“She is starting to play harder and really assert herself within the game. She has grown her game and I think the USA Trials really helped with that. She has been more dominant since then - she is smooth wiry and then all of a sudden -- up at the rim. Her jumper is easy and smooth; Going to be highly recruited and a very good player at the next level if she keeps this up.”
 
WHAT WE WILL BE LOOKING FOR NEXT:
 
As with many young players, adding overall strength will be key (not necessarily size, but strength). On the offensive end, a lower and tighter handle will help elevate Ramani’s game to the next level – being able to slash and attack in smaller space and get into gaps to pull up and shoot her smooth jumper. She has a nice 3-point shot and the next step will be being able to shoot it off the move – relocating to open space, coming off screens, and sprinting to a spot up in transition. As well as she understands the game, look for her to become a more precise passer to create opportunities for her teammates.
 
Defensively, she has a very good natural instinct for timing and rotation. We will look for the technical aspects of positioning, stance, and being able to use her length to stunt and recover both on the perimeter and when rotating to blocking shots. She is able to get a defensive rebound and lead the break, so naturally we will look to see her decision making in that situation as well.
   
In visiting at length with Ramani’s coaches, one thing they kept coming back to was her efficiency. They both pointed out that she does not need a lot of shots to fill up the stat sheet, but that she takes the right shots and it pays dividends. They inevitably compared her to a Candace Parker, a Simone Augustus/Glory Johnson hybrid, Kevin Durant, or an Anthony Davis type of player – all players that contribute in several statistical categories and are able to be the highly coveted “positionless” player at times. The talk of supreme efficiency takes any unofficial hoop historian to thoughts of the “50/40/90” club. This is the exclusive group that over a season has shot at least 50% from the field overall, 40% from beyond the 3-point line, and 90% from the FT line.
 
To provide perspective and to tie some basketball history into things:
 

• Only seven NBA players in history have pulled this off: Steve Nash (4 times), Larry Bird (twice), Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.

 

• In WNBA history ( according to www.basketball-reference.com )
  • Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics) was very close last season with 49.4/38.8/95.3
  • Becky Hammon in 2003 (New York Liberty) : 57.5/46.9/95.1 (only played in 11 games due to a knee injury)
  • Penny Taylor very close in 2010 (Phoenix Mercury) : 50.9/44.2/89.3
  • Maya Moore very close in 2013 : 50.9/45.3/88.2

 

• In D1 NCAA WBB history I found a few examples in my research:
  • Sue Bird (UCONN, 01-02): 50.5/46.6/94.2
  • Kristine Iwanaga (CAL, 04-05) : 50/52.4/93.4
  • Jenni Kraft (DUKE, 88-89) : 51/53.9/90
  • Both Kelsey Plum of Washington (52.9/42.8/88.7) and Lexie Brown of Duke (48.8/39.9/92.8) nearly pulled off the feat during last year’s 16-17 season.
  • Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis of UCONN came very close twice in her career. (12-13) : 52.8/49.2/89.5 ; (14-15) : 51.8/48.8/89.5
  • Elena Delle Donne for her career at Deleware was 48.1/40.9/91

 
** This is not a comprehensive list, simply some examples.
##  Special thanks to Debbie Antonelli (WBB National TV Analyst), Rick Nixon (NCAA – Associate Director, Championships & Alliances), and Phil Pierce (NCAA – Assistant Director of Media Coordination & Statistics) for their help regarding some resources, research, and statistics.
 
Clearly, this is not an easy thing to accomplish. It is good to introduce these things to young players to challenge them, and as a way to connect their game to the history of the game of basketball. Many players I speak to are not aware of this exclusive club or the spectacular players who have achieved the status.
   
The biggest take away from this player feature is that Ramani Parker is a well-rounded young lady. She is the middle sibling with two older brothers and two younger brothers and her parents, Ralph and Shavon, have spent their careers in the military. The display of her versatility is not held only for the basketball arena. From fashion design to brain science interests, she is a confident young lady, but is very humble and hungry. I know she is happy with where she is in the basketball world, but is most certainly not satisfied. Many out there like to “declare” when a player has arrived. Ramani will remind you that she has not truly arrived just yet (revisit her player self-assessment).
 
We will be patiently waiting for when she does.