PEORIA, Ill. – A limited number of tickets remain for both the Bradley Braves Club Game Day Luncheon, presented by Herget Bank, as well as the men's basketball game versus Texas-Pan American, both set for Monday in Renaissance Coliseum.
Former Bradley Basketball and NBA star Anthony Parker will be honored during both events Monday surrounding his induction into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame. Parker will be the featured speaker during the first Braves Club Game Day Luncheon of the year, then officially will be inducted in the Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony Monday night.
The Braves Club Game Day Luncheon, presented by Herget Bank, will be held in the Renaissance Coliseum Basketball Performance Center. Doors will open at 11:15 a.m., lunch will be served at 11:30 and the speaking program, emceed by Dave Snell and featuring both Parker and second-year Braves head coach Geno Ford, will begin at noon. Tickets are $20 for Braves Club members, $25 for non-members and may be reserved by contacting the Braves Club Office at 309-677-2667.
After opening their 109th men's basketball season Friday night versus Eastern Illinois at Carver Arena, the Braves will return to campus for just the third time in regular-season play since 1982 when they host Texas-Pan American in a 7 p.m. tilt at Renaissance Coliseum. Everyone in attendance will receive a Bradley Basketball t-shirt and Parker will be inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony. Game tickets are $20 for the general public, $15 for Carver Arena season-ticket holders, $10 for Bradley University faculty and staff and $1 for Bradley students and may be purchased in advance at the Renaissance Coliseum Box Office (309-677-2625) or online at BradleyBraves.com.
Parker played in one of the two previous on-campus games as a freshman, helping the Braves to an 81-63 victory versus Illinois Wesleyan Dec. 1, 1993 at Robertson Field House. The 1996 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, when he led the Braves to the MVC regular-season title and an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, Parker was a 3-time All-MVC performer during his time on The Hilltop and he remains the ninth-leading scorer in program history with 1,683 career points.
Parker was the 21st overall selection in the 1997 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets and he enjoyed a 16-year professional playing career. Following three injury-plagued seasons in the NBA, Parker took his game overseas and became a star with Maccabi Tel Aviv, helping the team to five Israeli Premier League championships from 2001-06, as well as five Israeli Cups and three Euroleague titles (2001, 2004 and 2005). A two-time Euroleague MVP, Parker was named one of the top 50 players in the 2007-08 celebration of 50 years of European Club basketball.
He returned to the NBA in 2006 by signing a free agent contract with the Toronto Raptors and he had been one of the league's most-accurate 3-point shooters the last six seasons. In total, Parker played in 494 NBA games, including 423 starts, averaging 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27.8 minutes per game. He drained 40.4 percent (596-1,474) of his career 3-point field goal attempts and he scored 4,717 regular-season and playoff points.
In addition to his statistical numbers, Parker won the Atlantic Division's 2007 NBA Sportsmanship Award in a league-wide vote of players. He played the final three seasons in his 9-year NBA career for the Cleveland Cavaliers, teaming with LeBron James for the NBA's best regular-season record in 2009-10.
