By DAVE KITCHELL
Tribune sports editor
June 12, 2008 09:39 pm
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From as early as his days at Northwestern High School, Austin Parkinson knew precisely what direction he wanted to take his professional life.
At age 26, he’s moving along that path quite nicely.
Thursday, IUPUI basketball coach Ron Hunter announced the hiring of Parkinson as an assistant coach.
“We’re excited about Austin joining our coaching staff,” Hunter said. “He relates really well with college student-athletes and he knows the state of Indiana. He played for one of the best [at Purdue] in [Gene] Keady and is a bright young man. He’s going to be a great addition to our program.”
Last season, Parkinson was IPFW’s Director of Basketball Operations for coach Dane Fife. Prior to that, the Kokomo native spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at the University of Indianapolis.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about this opportunity,” Parkinson said. “When coach Hunter called me, I accepted right away. I can’t wait to be a part of this winning program and to work with coach Hunter. He’s shown a lot of loyalty to IUPUI and the city of Indianapolis and I really respect what he’s been able to do.”
In Parkinson’s previous job, he didn’t recruit or do any on-court coaching. That will all change now as he is one of three men who will assist Hunter. Parkinson sees it as a move that will only improve his opportunity of someday being a college head coach.
“In my job [at IPFW], I learned a great deal about the day-to-day operations of a college program and I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” Parkinson said. “But I always felt recruiting and coaching were my strengths and now I’ll be able to do that.”
Parkinson is excited about having the opportunity of working with Hunter, IUPUI’s all-time winningest coach. Entering his 15th season, Hunter is coming off a school record 26 wins in the 2007-08 season, and has led IUPUI to seven straight non-losing seasons.
Parkinson is particularly pleased that he’ll be a member of IUPUI’s traveling party that goes to Nigeria beginning July 24, where the players and coaching staff will help distribute 200,000 pair of shoes. Hunter spearheaded the “Samaritan Feet” program that attracted national support from students, fans and shoe companies.
“He’s a man of character,” Parkinson said of Hunter. “He’s actually taking all of the coaches [to Africa], so we are not going to be able to recruit that last week of July. We’re going to miss valuable [recruiting] days and that says a lot about Hunter and the importance he puts on this mission.”
Parkinson, who is making his first trip to Africa, said that in research he’s done on the project, that in many cases children and adults will receive their very first pair of shoes.
As a player, Parkinson was a four-year letter-winner at Purdue. He ended his career tied for 10th on the Boilers’ all-time assist list. He also led the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of his final three seasons. He received his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Skills and Leadership in 2004 and his master’s in the same concentration.
Parkinson left Northwestern in 2000 as the school’s all-time leader in points (1,667), assists and steals. He was a four-time Kokomo Tribune All-Area player and an Indiana All-Star.
Parkinson’s duties will include recruiting, on-court development, practice planning and academic oversight. His first day at IUPUI is July 1.
The IUPUI sports information department contributed information to this story.
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