It's 'Chop' on top: Parker wins 500th at NLHS
Jan. 10—NEW LONDON — Craig Parker was immersed in the happiest of times Tuesday night, but nonetheless charged with the task of dissecting the moment while totally consumed in it.
But then there he was, awash in hugs, high fives and photo opportunities, all in the wake of a seminal achievement only 16 others have ever done in Connecticut: Win their 500th boys' basketball game.
"To quote my man (Jerry) Garcia," Parker said, "what a long, strange trip it's been."
Long, strange and ultra-successful for the man whose team earned his career 500th with a 77-54 win over previously unbeaten Griswold at Conway Gymnasium.
When it was over, the cheerleaders (and Parker's wife, Missy) flashed signs that read, "500." Parker's players mobbed him, fans and friends posed for pictures. And then Parker shared a meaningful embrace with Missy (and at least one of them cried.)
"As I get older, I get more philosophical. We all do," Parker said. "It just so happens that this is the group I get to accomplish this with. And what a great group they are."
Devan Williams scored 29 points to lead the Whalers, while SaVahn Warren had 28. New London (5-2) rebounded from Friday's loss to St. Bernard with an exclamation point.
"This means a lot to all of us," Warren said. "To be part of the team that won Coach Parker's 500th ... We know he's coached a lot of very good players. For us to share this with him is an honor."
Parker's first win came Dec. 20, 1994, a narrow victory at Norwich Free Academy. It was either eerie coincidence or fate that one of the kids playing for Griswold (8-1) Tuesday night (Carmelo Curtis) is the son of Isaiah Curtis, a member of Parker's first team in 1994-95. That team won the first of Parker's four state titles.
"I remember that very first year a lot," Parker said. "I remember taking the job just to see if I could do it. I thought maybe I'd do it for a year. In the early 2000s I thought about leaving and doing something else, too. But it's just kept going and going."
Parker was also touched to have the man that hired him, Jim O'Neill, who retired as New London's athletic director in 1999, behind the bench and in the locker room after Tuesday's game.
"Having the man that hired me," Parker said, "makes the night extra special."
And so now the matter of the 2022-23 season rolls on, the Whalers a contender in the Eastern Connecticut Conference and Division III in the state tournament. Parker, who has endured his share of critics over the years, pursues title No. 5 with his kids.
"If I cared about what people in this town have said, I'd have been out of here a long time ago," Parker said. "Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has an agenda. And my agenda has been to win games at New London High School."
