By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
It’s very rare when things work out according to plan, but for Mychal Parker the blue print for success seems to be written in stone.
Parker, a Washington native, left North Carolina as a rising junior this summer to attend The Miller School, a prep hoops power house in Charlottesville, VA and told anyone who would listen he was going there to win a state title.
On Saturday, Parker kept his word as he turned in a 27-point performance to lead the Mavericks to a 69-61 win over Atlantic Shore Christian in the Virginia Independent School Div. II state championship game.
The 6-7 swingman and five-star recruit, was named the tournament MVP as Miller finished the season with a 26-3 record.
The Miller School trailed at halftime, but thanks to a pivotal 7-0 run early in the second half the Mavericks were able to overtake Duke committee Andrew Dawkins (19 points) and the Seahawks (30-2).
Parker, who played his freshman and part of his sophomore season with Southside before transferring to Terra Ceia, said that his team’s ability to get to the free throw line and make shots tipped the scales in the Mavericks’ favor.
The Miller School was 7-10 from the line in the final 1:30 of play, and Parker estimated that half of his 27 points came from the charity stripe.
Parker, who is ranked on many of the popular scouting web sites one of the nation’s top 20 recruits in the class of 2010, said that Saturday’s performance ranks at the top of his list.
Parker is a former WDN Player of the Year, and is currently being pursued by some of the top college programs in the nation from the ACC to the Pac-10. The Washington native will be attending the LeBron James Skills Academy this summer, where he has an opportunity to earn a place on the Nike National team.