SMUSH PARKER
Interview by: Carey Smith
HTV: You're playing very well this season for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Tell us how you feel about your game right now.
SMUSH: I am just trying to be aggressive and keep my mind right and keep my game sharp and make plays for my self and my teammates. Right now it's looking good and working out for me.
HTV: C'mon, you're being modest. Right now you're averaging nearly a double-double each night (17 ppg. & 7.7 rpg.) so you have to give us some acknowledgement that things are going well for you, right?
SMUSH: Yeah, I guess so. I am just out here trying to keep my game tight and sharpen up areas I need to work on and be aggressive and help this club win some basketball games.
HTV: The Vipers have struggled out of the gate this year. What do the Vipers need to do to get on track and have a winning season?
SMUSH: We need to find a team identity. We've argued in-house too much. We need to learn that we are not the enemy, we're teammates. Then we can get it together and take it out on our opponents each night.
Smush is currently averaging close to a double-double for the Vipers (Courtesy: Randy Belice/NBAE/Getty Images).
HTV: I see that NBA great Robert Pack is an assistant coach with the Vipers. Have you had a chance to pick his brain for some insights into the game?
SMUSH: He does have 13 years in the league and played with some of the greats. I pick his brain every chance I get. We also share stories, plays and things we've seen or experienced in the NBA to help the young guys (on the Vipers) for their future.
HTV: As you may remember, back at the 1994 NBA All-Star Weekend, coach Pack finished second to Isaiah Rider in the Slam Dunk contest. Can Pack still get up and flush?
SMUSH: I have not seen him do that yet. He hasn't gotten out and run with the team yet.
HTV: Are you looking forward to the NBDL Showcase event?
SMUSH: Yeah. Situations like that can't hurt you if you play well and can hurt you if you don't. But I am confident in what I can do to open some eyes and hopefully it will open some doors to getting back to the NBA or Europe.
HTV: How do you handle the pressure of NBA Scouts at NBDL games?
SMUSH: I know that every time I step out on the court, there is somebody watching. I never go in to a situation, a basketball game, lazy - thinking that nobody is watching, so who cares. If there are no scouts at the game, I know the video tape is always rolling, so I go out and compete to my best ability every night.
HTV: Whether it's averaging a certain number of assists per run or making the All-Star game or whatever else, do you set personal goals for your NBDL play?
SMUSH: I don't have any NBDL goals. If I got invited to the ASG, I don't think I would play. My goal in life is to get better as a person and a player and to provide the best life for myself and my family. In order to do that, I have to be better then the NBDL and get back to the NBA and see if I can grow there. The level of ball I am capable of playing is at the higher NBA level and I am just ready to get back (to the League) and start competing.
HTV: What elements of your game are you working on these days?
SMUSH: I am trying to be more consistent as far as hitting the jump shot. I am also trying to cut down on the turnovers.
Smush has no interest in the NBDL ALL-Star Game (Courtesy: Randy Belice/NBAE/Getty Images).
HTV: What about the NBA do you talk to the young guys on the Vipers about?
SMUSH: I don't tell them about life in the NBA. I pretty much tell them about what it takes for them to get to the NBA - hard work, dedication and determination. Guys in the D-League have to fight through some adversity to get to the NBA level and that also takes discipline.
HTV: Do you think the arrangement of the NBDL as a farm system for the NBA is working?
SMUSH: It is definitely a good farm system. Some guys who are draftees or others who are not, may not be ready to contribute on the NBA level just yet. Here they get a chance to come down here and work on their game and their confidence.
HTV: How is life in Mission, Texas (Home of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers)?
SMUSH: Know one knows where it is. I didn't know where Mission, Texas was or Rio Grande Valley was until I got here. I am four miles away from the border of Mexico. So I like to say that I am in the suburbs of Mexico. It's a slow pace of life here. Boring compared to New York where there is something going on every moment of the day, but peaceful.
HTV: Have you found any good places to eat in Mission?
SMUSH: Here!? (Laughs) The Macaroni Grill. It's the only place I go on a consistent basis.
HTV: You once hit for two triple-doubles -- the first two in D-League history. Tell us about that experience.
SMUSH: It was a good experience during my first stint in the NBDL with the Florida Flames under the late Dennis Johnson. I had good teammates who could finish plays and make shots and then I just went out and grabbed 10 rebounds
Smush once played for Celtics legend Dennis Johnson in the NBDL (Courtesy: Randy Belice/NBAE/Getty Images).
HTV:This is your second stint in the NBDL. Tell us a little bit about the D-League experience.
SMUSH: It involves a lot of rigorous, not-so-first class traveling and hotels. Nothing like I am used to in the NBA.
HTV: Can you talk about the drama that went down between the Miami Heat and you last season?
SMUSH: It was a situation that got out of control, but what is done is done and I am just trying to move on.
HTV: You spent some time with the Clip Joint at the end of last season. How was playing for the Clippers?
SMUSH: It was short (Laughs). But they gave me the opportunity to play some ball at the end of the season (Ed's note: Smush played in 19 games for the LAC at the end of the 2007-08 season and started 2 of those games). By that time I was so far out of shape because I had not played basketball in three months, being held captive down there in Miami I was not in game shape, but I appreciate the opportunity they gave me.
HTV: Have you thought about jumping to Europe?
SMUSH: I would love that. If I had the opportunity I would definitely give it some thought.
HTV: What did you think of Josh Childress and his decision to jump to Europe?
SMUSH: I believe playing in Europe is a great opportunity. What other job do you get to travel the world, experience a new life, different people and other cultures? Basketball provides that for a lot of us young athletes and Josh he just took advantage of the situation and I think it was a great move for him.
HTV: You've played in the NBA and the D-League as well as Europe, compare ball in the States to your ball in Europe.
SMUSH: Europe is a totally different ball game. Here it is more about athleticism and flash and getting to the hole. In Europe it is more of a half-court set -- pick-n-pop, pick-n-roll and back cuts. It's not as athletic, so there are not any fast break alley oops or high flying dunks.
Smush can't decided who is the better player between former teammate Kobe and Lebron.
HTV: What is it like to play with Kobe?
SMUSH: Ohh boy. That's an alley I won't go down.
HTV: Okay. So then Lebron or Kobe, who's the better player?
SMUSH: I don't know. They're two different players. Both are at the top of their game right now and both are getting better.
HTV: Lebron, Kobe or MJ?
SMUSH: I wouldn't compare anyone to MJ. Mike was the greatest player to play the game. But not just to play also to think the game. I see these guys today and they play well and they're great players, but I don't think there is anybody...(who compares to MJ). It's like comparing Usher to Michael Jackson. Usher is great at what he does, but he's no Michael Jackson.
HTV: Do you watch NBA games on TV?
SMUSH: I don't watch it. Not because of the situation I am in, but because I do not watch any sports on TV. I'd rather play then watch. If I watch it, I get antsy and I want to go out and be active and play.
HTV: As a fellow NYC point guard, what are your thoughts on the Marbury / NYK situation?
SMUSH: I have not given it too much thought. I'm just focused on what I have to do.
HTV: Is the reputation of NYC point guards in trouble within NBA front office circles?
SMUSH: We've been given a bad rap that goes back way before I was born. I feel like we have all had to dig out of a hole that we had nothing to do with creating.
When Smush wasn't with his trainer during the Summer of 2008, he played in the Fireball Classic in NYC.
HTV: What summer leagues back home in NYC did you play in this past summer?
SMUSH:I worked out all summer back in NY to try and stay in shape and I played at Pro City, West 4th Street tournament and Fireball Classic down at Baruch College in early May. But I did more personal work with my trainer this summer, rather then played in tourneys.
HTV: Do you still drive the "Smushcalade"?
SMUSH: (Laughs) The "Smushcalade" is actually on ice right now. I upgraded to a Benz and I am actually in love with my new Ford F150 Saleen edition. It's a pretty cool ride.
HTV: Hold up. You're driving a pickup truck and you like it?
SMUSH: Definitely. With the engine I have in there I love that pick up truck. Saleen is a sports performance package. They deal in racing engines, they built racing engines for Mustangs and they collaborated on the Ford F150 to upgrade the stock engine to a 450 horse power engine, so it's a very powerful truck.
Smush has parked the notorious "Smushcalade" in favor of a Ford F150 Saleen.
HTV: What type of music are you currently listening to in that pick up?
SMUSH: (Laughs) I am eighties baby so I listen to Prince, MJ, Stevie Wonder, New Edition, Boyz To Men. If I listen to music from these days, its Alicia Keys and Jay Z. Lil' Wayne is pretty good. But I am old soul so I listen to music from back in the eighties.
HTV: Update us on the status of your ink?
SMUSH: I just added a few new tattoos. I have a total of 32 right now. The latest is I got two naked women tattooed on the inside of my forearms.
HTV: Why two naked women?
SMUSH: I just love women - it's self explanatory.
HTV: So how are the Snake Charmers (Rio Grande Valley's dance team)?
SMUSH: They're decent. They're no Miami Heat girls or Laker girls, but they're decent.
HTV: In your pro hoops career, you've accomplished a tremendous amount. You've played in the NBA, in Europe and the D-League and you're a playground legend as well. A lot of guys with your resume would call it quits and coast. What keeps you going and pushes you to continue to grind it out every day?
SMUSH: It's the love for the game. Love for the game, man. Also it's a job. People sometimes see this as fun or as a sport, but they also have to understand that this is how I pay the bills. So you have to understand that I go into this with the attitude that I want to get better at my craft and I want to make more money in order to support myself and my family.
Smush's newest ink is a tribute to women like the ladies of the Snake Charmers dance team.
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