1998-99
GIRL'S BASKETBALL RECAPS
July 12, 1999
Parr on par to thrive
North junior eyes breakthrough year
By Tad Reeve Leader-Telegram sports editor
MENOMONIE -- Larissa Parr spent last season coming off the bench for the Eau Claire North girls basketball team.
Huskies coach Chico LaBarbera liked to call the 5-foot-11 sophomore forward his "secret weapon."
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Her season was so hush-hush that Big Rivers Conference coaches voted her first-team All-BRC at the end of the season.
Some secret.
If local basketball aficionados liked what they saw of Parr last season, they’ll love the new-and-improved version of her game she plans to unveil next season.
After spending the last couple of offseasons playing YMCA ball and attending camps on her own, Parr is devoting all her energy to playing Amateur Athletic Union ball this summer.
She helped the Wisconsin Viking Club Velocity team finish 24th in the 16-year-old division at the AAU Nationals last week in Kingsport, Tenn. And, on Sunday, she led the Velocity to the championship game of the 16-under Gold division at the 11th annual Great Lakes Shootout at UW-Stout.
Parr scored a team-high 13 points, but Velocity lost 62-45 to Mohr Magic, the Indiana state champion. Velocity finished the five-day tournament with a 6-1 record.
Parr showed several new wrinkles in her game against Mohr Magic, handling the ball a bit on the perimeter and even canning a 3-pointer.
"Last year I probably only shot three or four 3s during the (high school) season," Parr said. "And I never handled the ball during the game. I was always playing under the basket.
"That’s what I like about playing AAU. You get to work on all parts of your game. I want to become a more complete, all-around player."
Parr has made a big impression during her two months playing with Velocity. After coming off the bench for the all-star team during the spring season, she earned a starting position at last week’s national tournament and kept it throughout the Great Lakes Shootout.
"At nationals, I had at least 10 (NCAA) Division I coaches ask me about her," said Mark Noll, Velocity’s coach. "They were happy to hear she’s only a junior. They really like what they saw."
Parr can thank former North teammate Chandra Johnson for giving her the push she needed to play AAU ball. Parr watched as Johnson, the Huskies’ 6-4 post player, drew the attention of Division I coaches at several AAU national tournaments last summer. Johnson ended up signing a basketball scholarship with UW-Green Bay.
"AAU did her a lot of good," Parr said of Johnson.
LaBarbera stepped down as North coach last month, and a replacement has yet to be named. But one thing is for sure: Whoever steps in for LaBarbera won’t be able to miss Parr.
Still, if she doesn’t earn a spot in the starting lineup, that’s fine by her.
"I guess it would depend on who was starting ahead of me. If they deserve it, that’s fine," Parr said. "I’d like to have people start in place of me because that would mean we’d have a really good team.
"The way I see it, it doesn’t matter when you play in the game. It’s what you do when you’re in there."
Reeve can be reached evenings at 833-9212 or (800) 236-7077.