Parks impresses in final game as a Jackrabbit

Senior guard Deondre Parks is this week’s Collegian Sports Athlete of the Week for his outstanding performance against the University of Maryland in the NCAA tournament in his final game as a Jackrabbit.

Parks scored 22 points on seven of nine shooting, including three of three from three-point territory. He also went five of five at the free throw line and tallied three rebounds and two assists.

Parks, a native of Flint, Michigan, transferred to South Dakota State after two seasons at Iowa Lakes Community College and scored 984 points in his two seasons in Brookings.

This season, he started all 33 of the games he played in, missing one with an injury. He was tied for second on the team in scoring average at 14.9 points per game and led the Jacks in overall minutes.

Last year, Parks started all 35 games as a junior. He was selected as Summit League Newcomer of the Year, All-Summit League First Team and Summit League Championships All-Tournament Team. He was also a 2015 Riley Wallace All-American.