Alum Reggie Parris switching gears, sports

 

Reggie Parris has a plan and he’s sticking to it.

He doesn’t care that you may not understand it or heard of it before and, yes, it’s unusual – geez, it’s kind of a new one on him, too.

But here the 2018 Mullen graduate is, fresh from switching sides in midstream. In his second year at the University of San Diego, Parris has switched from baseball to basketball for the Toreros.

Correct … Parris has passed on baseball and is centering on basketball. And if you want proof, head to the University of Colorado’s Coors Events Center on Saturday, when the 25^th-ranked Buffaloes will host San Diego. Parris will be the 6-foot-3 guard who will be wearing No. 31.

“It’s complicated,” Parris said of everything involved.

But not necessarily for him – Parris has foreseen it clearly. He left Mullen for San Diego on an academic scholarship and was promising enough as a left-handed pitcher to be included on the baseball team. However, he wasn’t among those for the allotted 11.7 scholarships the Toreros have to dispense and ended up having a redshirt season. And at the end of the season, he realized his opportunities would be limited at best.

Parris considered the junior-college route to go back into the recruiting pool – Regis, where younger brother Brady is a freshman basketballer, and Northern Colorado would snap him up in a second – but it would go against his purpose.

“My dream was to play (Division I) sports at a Southern California location I liked that had high academics,” he said. “That was taken away from me last year … and this was what my dream was from the start.”

Which brought him back to basketball … about a month and a half into this school year, Parris said he was sitting in his dormitory room “and I kind of missed basketball.” So he emailed the coach about possible walk-on tryouts, joined a half-dozen others and became one of two walk-ons for the Toreros to complete a 14-player roster.

“It’s crazy,” Parris said. “Imagine if I didn’t play my senior year (at Mullen).”

Ironically, he nearly passed on playing. According to Mullen coach Bob Caton, Parris, the team’s leading returning scorer for the 2017-18 season, was frustrated after his junior season and was all set to simply prepare for the baseball season.

He did, though, agree to be the team’s manager. And when he had second thoughts on the first day of practice as he watched the Mustangs go through drills, he shared his thoughts with an assistant cosch.

“I don’t think he knew Robby (Caton)was my son,” Caton said. “He told him, ‘Geez, I wish I would have come out. I don’t know if he’ll let me now.’

“And Robby said, ‘Oh, I think he probably would. Want me to check?’

“And on the second day, he was practicing with us.”

It hasn’t been that easy for Parris with the Toreros, who are 2-2 entering the game in Boulder. He has yet to enter a game, but is there on the floor in drills and pregame getting the ball to regulars, cheering them on from the bench and “being a good teammate.”

Of course, he said, “I’d love to have an opportunity to play, but I support the scholarship players … and I probably won’t get in unless we’re blowing somebody out or getting blown out.”

San Diego is in the West Coast Conference and will square off against the likes of Gonzaga and Pepperdine, which also has former Eaglecrest star Colbey Ross.

Bob Caton said he isn’t surprised by Parris’ determination.

“You know what, he was a great captain and a great leader,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for Reggie. If he’s on the scout team (at San Diego), he’ll do what he has to do for the scout team. He understands the game.”

Whatever this next phase brings for Parris, he said he’ll be ready.

“We’ll see how basketball goes,” he said. “I might get halfway through November and December and realize it’s not for me … and I’m a left-handed pitcher. Baseball will always be there for me.”

With an interesting mix into his second year and multiple possibilities looming for his choices of sports and schools, Parris appears ready.

“This is what my dream was from the start,” he said, “not to be the next draft pick, but experience being on a team with guys who get along and have the same common goal, and whatever my role is to maximize it.”