Old National Presents: Remarkable Purdue career of Eugene Parker
It would be hard to find a more revered member of Purdue's men's basketball family than Eugene Parker.
That is why his passing on April 1 after a short bout with kidney cancer was such a shock. He was just 60 years old.
"Eugene Parker is what Purdue basketball is all about," athletic director Morgan Burke said at the men's basketball banquet on Wednesday night. "He was a great student who went on to be a great lawyer and sports agent, but he was a great player as well. He was a humble person who practiced humilty in his daily life. There have been few quite like him, and he will be sorely missed."
Parker played basketball at Purdue from 1975-78, then went on to become a giant in the sports representation business.
Parker's playing career at Purdue mirrored his life. A 6-foot-1 guard, he was somewhat unheralded coming out of Fort Wayne Concordia High School, falling short of making the Indiana All-Star team.
"To some extent, people underestimated Eugene as a player growing up," said teammate Walter Jordan, who played at nearby Northrop High School before joining Parker at Purdue. "He was quiet and unassuming and never wanted to draw too much attention to himself, but if you didn't pay attention to him on the court, that was your mistake."
Once at Purdue, Parker did what he always did in his life: Overachieved. Like Jordan and fellow classmate Wayne Walls, Parker was a four-year starter for Coach Fred Schaus. He scored 1,430 career points, which ranks him 22nd on the school's all-time list now but was sixth when he completed his eligibility 38 years ago.
Parker, a left-hander with great range who would have benefitted from the three-point line, managed to earn playing time during a period when the Boilermaker program had some of the best guard play in the nation. Highly touted talents like Kyle Macy, Bruce Parkinson and Jerry Sichting all served as running mates to Parker.
"He made everyone better," Parkinson would say years later. "He was a selfless player, but he could shoot from deep like few players we have had here. But just because he could shoot didn't stop him from being one of the best teammates you could have."
Dick Satterfield, who was the lone senior on Purdue's famed Soul Patrol, which also consisted of freshmen Parker, Walls, Jordan and Michael White, admired Parker from the first day he saw him.
"I may have been a senior when he was a freshman at Purdue, but I looked up to Eugene," said Satterfield, who remained close to Parker and the program since his playing days. "Despite all the success he enjoyed in the business world and in his personal life, it was never about Eugene. He was a guy you wanted to emulate because of two things: How successful he was and how selfless he was.
"I actually was kind of mad at him when he was a freshman because, as a former walk-on, I thought I was going to get more playing time ... until he arrived. It didn't take me long to realize he was good — I mean really good — as a player."
The Boilermakers enjoyed success as a team, finishing third in the Big Ten in Parker's first three years in West Lafayette. In his junior year, Parker helped lead Purdue to only its second NCAA Tournament in its history, a much more difficult feat in those days as only 32 teams were invited.
There was one area where Parker liked to draw some attention to himself during his college days. He had a love for singing and music and actually sang his version of Herb Alpert's classic "This Guy's In Love With You" at the team banquet as a senior in 1978.
It brought the house down.
Parker even sang at the wedding of teammate Mike Steele, who was a couple of years older than Parker.
"He was exactly the same guy last month as he was the day I met him my junior year," said Steele, who became a college coach before enjoying a successful career in insurance. "He was smooth and cool, but also just a great friend.
"Purdue ought to consider naming the alumni game/day (which will take place on Aug. 6) after Eugene. He certainly epitomizes what a Purdue student-athlete should strive to become better than anyone else I can think of."
More: Remembing Eugene Parker | Sports world reacts to Parker's passing
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