Mike DiMauro: Five favorites among the near 500 for Whalers' 'Chop' Parker

Dec. 27—NEW LONDON — It won't be long into 2023 when the man they call "Chop," otherwise known as Craig Parker, wins his 500th game coaching basketball at New London High. And I've been around for all 497 of them to date.

So here's a run through the archives for my five favorite games in the Parker era that began in mid-December of 1994 when the Whalers barely won at Norwich Free Academy, leaving Parker, exhausted and sweaty, to say after his first win, "I feel like I just went 15 rounds."

These are in chronological order.

March 17, 1995: New London 49, Trinity Catholic 45. This was for the Class M state title at Central Connecticut when the Whalers, the perpetual favorites, became the impossible underdogs. This is still perhaps New London's greatest basketball victory.

Trinity Catholic was what you'd call an overwhelmingly overwhelming favorite, with players from all over southwestern Connecticut and New York, where Trinity's best player, Rashamel Jones, lived: Port Chester, N.Y. The same Jones headed for UConn. The Crusaders also had guard Earl Johnson, who was going to Rutgers.

New London, meanwhile, was 19-4 and didn't even win the Eastern Connecticut Conference. Coach Ralph Roggero and his three state titles left after the 1994 championship season, taking the great Tyson Wheeler with him.

Their departures left Parker in his first state title game with Isaiah Curtis, Jason O'Reilly, Dwayne Stallings, Nick Gray, Derek Rock, Keith Mitchell, Sammy Gonzalez, Willie Goosby, Kent Reyes and others.

After New London won its state semifinal game a few days earlier, Jim O'Neill, the athletic director at the time, knew what the Whalers were facing in the finals and cracked, "well, at least we won the Class M public school championship," a sentiment many public school coaches still mutter today.

Someone, though, forgot to tell the Whalers they were supposed to lose.

O'Neill helped Parker with a game plan O'Neill learned from Mike Pennella, who won the 1975 Class L title at New London.

The Whalers employed three players just inside the midcourt line and two in each corner, spreading the floor. When Jones and Johnson went to midcourt to guard their men, their men would dart to the corner, thereby taking Jones and Johnson away from the middle.

New London used five ballhandlers and used the favorable matchups in the middle to drive and make layups.

The Whalers had a 38-19 lead in the third period.

But just when New London's student section started chanting "overrated," Trinity Catholic finally adjusted and cut the lead to four with 2:20 left. Tom Poblete, Parker's assistant, suggested New London switch to a zone that would cut down Trinity Catholic's penetration.

It worked.

New London made its free throws and won 49-45, touching off the most improbable celebration of them all.

Best postgame quote came from Stallings, who said, "I'm not scared of anybody on the basketball court. Except Michael Jordan."

Parker: "Never underestimate New London kids."

Feb. 29, 2008: New London 74, NFA 66. Before the Mikey Buscetto vs. Dev Ostrowski extravaganza in 2018 — a game that filled the X in Waterford and left a thousand or so outside — this was the among the most anticipated games in years.

New London vs. NFA for the ECC title, featuring Florida-bound New London senior Allan Chaney and Holy Cross-bound NFA senior R.J. Evans. Conway Gym filled quickly, many were left outside — only without GameDay streaming it.

Incredible game. Evans had 35. Chaney had 32. Parker was so happy after the game that he cried. And Chaney took his life in his hands when he actually rubbed the top of Parker's head in victory.

March 3, 2009: New London 51, NFA 48. This was for the ECC Tournament title when the X at Waterford High was merely "The Fieldhouse," nonetheless filled with nearly 2,000 fans.

With 10 seconds left and New London down a point, Parker called timeout. Enter Torin Childs-Harris, a sophomore at the time, a young man who would be part of New London's 2011 undefeated team.

Child-Harris caught the inbounds pass, dribbled inside the 3-point line and drilled a 15-footer with six seconds left that eventually gave the Whalers a wild victory over their time-honored rival.

I asked Parker about the play he drew up in the huddle.

"I didn't," he said.

"Then what did you tell them with 10 seconds left down one?"

"Know what I said?" Parker said. "I went into the huddle and said 'hey, guys, we're the Whalers.'"

Loosely translated, that means "we win these games and the other teams don't."

March 19, 2011: New London 63, Northwest Catholic 55. Maybe the biggest night in New London sports history. The Whalers were playing for a state championship, No. 1 ranking, to become the first basketball team in the history of a program to finish 27-0 ... and do it before a full house at Mohegan Sun.

The game was delayed a bit because Kris Dunn, in his junior year, got hit south of the equator and lay still for a bit on the floor. Two voices were heard in the crowd: Dunn's dad, John Seldon, and old football coach, Jack Cochran, who both yelled, "GET UP!" as loudly as they could.

Parker cried again because his kids were holding the hardware. After the game, Parker uttered perhaps his greatest quote.

"This is the town I love, the town I grew up in. I love New London, Connecticut," he said. "I tell people it's the most psychotic town on the planet by far. But you know what? It's my town."

March 20, 2012: New London 79. Windsor 73 (2 OT): The greatest high school basketball game I've ever seen.

This was the final game Dunn won during his career. New London trailed by 10 points with five minutes remaining in regulation and needed two overtimes to beat Windsor in the Class LL quarterfinals before 2,045 fans at Central Connecticut.

New London was dead several times, except Doug Henton kept raining threes like hailstones on Windsor, a brand name. Parker was elated with the win for many reasons, not the least of which was an undying respect for Windsor and its eight state titles.

This game also had considerable star power with Dunn (made the NBA), Windsor's Jared Wilson Frame (played at Pitt and the NBA developmental league), Keith Porter (NBA developmental league), Malcolm Simmons (Central) and Voghens Larrieux (football at Coastal Carolina).

It's been a fun ride.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro