Artsiom Parakhouski
Encyclopedia
Artsiom "Art" Parakhouski (born October 6, 1987 in Minsk
, Belarus
) is a Belarusian basketball player who recently finished his American
college career in 2010 with the Radford University
Highlanders
, located in Radford
, Virginia
. A 6'11" (2.11 m) center
, Parakhouski led NCAA Division I in rebounds
in 2009–10
at 13.4 per game. He was named the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
in 2009 and 2010, becoming the fifth multiple player of the year winner in Big South
history.
, Belarus
by parents who both coach national Belarusian team sports, Parakhouski grew up playing football (soccer) until age 16. He was forced to switch to basketball, a sport he had never even played, when his body grew too large for any realistic football aspirations. After an introduction to the game and lots of practice on fundamentals, he began to play competitively.
Parakhouski was spotted by Ali Ton, then a Binghamton University
men's basketball assistant coach, at the Junior European Championships. Seeing his potential, Ton persuaded Parkhouski to first attend a junior college
in the United States before enrolling at a major university to progress in basketball and to simultaneously learn English. At Southern Idaho Community College, Parakhouski struggled to grasp the language, admitting "It was hard for me. The first five-to-six months I couldn't speak at all. I couldn't understand anyone around me. I was basically in a jungle with nobody."
When Ton became an assistant coach at Radford University
, Parakhouski followed him. Under the guidance of head coach Brad Greenberg
he developed into a National Basketball Association
(NBA) center prospect following his 2009–10 senior season but was ultimately never drafted.
and 6.4 rebounds on 60.1% shooting. Parakhouski then spent his final two college seasons as a Radford Highlander.
As a junior in 2008–09
, Parakhouski averaged 16.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks
on 53.7% shooting. He led Radford to win the Big South Conference Tournament
by scoring 26 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in the championship game. After gaining an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament
as the 16th seed, he then scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the #1-seed and eventual national champion North Carolina Tar Heels and former National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough
. In March 2009 he was named the Big South Player of the Year
.
Parakhouski repeated as the conference player of the year his senior season in 2009–10
. He averaged 13.4 rebounds in 31 games played, which led the nation in rebounds per game. He also scored 21.4 points and block 2.1 shots per game. Parakhouski ended his two-year career at Radford having scored 1,195 points, grabbed 783 rebounds and blocked 115 shots. He was the two-time conference player of the year and was also a two-time First Team All Big South selection.
; however, he played for the Boston Celtics
in the 2010 Orlando Pro Summer League. On August 20, 2010, he signed with Latvia
n club VEF Riga
and won the Latvian Basketball League
championship.
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
) is a Belarusian basketball player who recently finished his American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college career in 2010 with the Radford University
Radford University
Radford University is one of Virginia's eight doctoral-degree granting public universities. Originally founded in 1910, Radford offers comprehensive curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, and graduate programs including the M.F.A., M.B.A...
Highlanders
Radford Highlanders men's basketball
Radford Highlanders is the name of the basketball program at Radford University. A member of the Big South Conference, the current head coach is Mike Jones. The Highlanders play at the Dedmon Center, which has a capacity of 3,000.-Steve Robinson :...
, located in Radford
Radford, Virginia
Radford is a city in Virginia, United States. The population was 16,408 in 2010. For statistical purposes, the Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Radford with neighboring Montgomery County, including the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, calling the combination the...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. A 6'11" (2.11 m) center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
, Parakhouski led NCAA Division I in rebounds
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
in 2009–10
2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2009, and ended with the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament's championship game on April 5, 2010 on the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The opening round occurred on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, followed by first...
at 13.4 per game. He was named the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
The Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award given to the Big South Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1985–86 season, the first year the league competed in varsity basketball competition.The most...
in 2009 and 2010, becoming the fifth multiple player of the year winner in Big South
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision...
history.
Early life
Born and raised in MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
by parents who both coach national Belarusian team sports, Parakhouski grew up playing football (soccer) until age 16. He was forced to switch to basketball, a sport he had never even played, when his body grew too large for any realistic football aspirations. After an introduction to the game and lots of practice on fundamentals, he began to play competitively.
Parakhouski was spotted by Ali Ton, then a Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
men's basketball assistant coach, at the Junior European Championships. Seeing his potential, Ton persuaded Parkhouski to first attend a junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
in the United States before enrolling at a major university to progress in basketball and to simultaneously learn English. At Southern Idaho Community College, Parakhouski struggled to grasp the language, admitting "It was hard for me. The first five-to-six months I couldn't speak at all. I couldn't understand anyone around me. I was basically in a jungle with nobody."
When Ton became an assistant coach at Radford University
Radford University
Radford University is one of Virginia's eight doctoral-degree granting public universities. Originally founded in 1910, Radford offers comprehensive curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, and graduate programs including the M.F.A., M.B.A...
, Parakhouski followed him. Under the guidance of head coach Brad Greenberg
Brad Greenberg
Brad Greenberg is an American college basketball coach, most recently head coach at Radford University. He has also served as an assistant coach for Virginia Tech, and for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks...
he developed into a National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) center prospect following his 2009–10 senior season but was ultimately never drafted.
College career
Parakhouski spent his first two seasons of his NCAA eligibility at Southern Idaho Community College, where in 63 games played he averaged 10.1 pointsPoint (basketball)
Points in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals or free throws ....
and 6.4 rebounds on 60.1% shooting. Parakhouski then spent his final two college seasons as a Radford Highlander.
As a junior in 2008–09
2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2008 and ended with the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament's championship game on April 6, 2009 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The season saw six different teams achieve the AP #1 ranking during the...
, Parakhouski averaged 16.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks
Block (basketball)
In basketball, a block , not to be confused with blocking, occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player. The defender must not touch the offensive player's hands or otherwise a foul is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot...
on 53.7% shooting. He led Radford to win the Big South Conference Tournament
2009 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2009 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 3–7, 2009. It was won by the Radford Highlanders.-Format:The quarterfinals were held on campus sites, with the higher seed playing host in each game. The semifinals and finals were held at the Dedmon Center in...
by scoring 26 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in the championship game. After gaining an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament
2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....
as the 16th seed, he then scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the #1-seed and eventual national champion North Carolina Tar Heels and former National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough
Tyler Hansbrough
Andrew Tyler Hansbrough is an American basketball player for the Indiana Pacers. Hansbrough completed a college basketball career with the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team in 2009, and was drafted into the NBA by the Indiana Pacers with the 13th pick of the 1st round of the 2009 NBA...
. In March 2009 he was named the Big South Player of the Year
Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
The Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award given to the Big South Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1985–86 season, the first year the league competed in varsity basketball competition.The most...
.
Parakhouski repeated as the conference player of the year his senior season in 2009–10
2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2009, and ended with the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament's championship game on April 5, 2010 on the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The opening round occurred on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, followed by first...
. He averaged 13.4 rebounds in 31 games played, which led the nation in rebounds per game. He also scored 21.4 points and block 2.1 shots per game. Parakhouski ended his two-year career at Radford having scored 1,195 points, grabbed 783 rebounds and blocked 115 shots. He was the two-time conference player of the year and was also a two-time First Team All Big South selection.
Professional career
Parakhouski did not get selected in the 2010 NBA Draft2010 NBA Draft
The 2010 NBA Draft was held on June 24, 2010 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time , was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur...
; however, he played for the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
in the 2010 Orlando Pro Summer League. On August 20, 2010, he signed with Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n club VEF Riga
VEF Riga
VEF Rīga is the name of a professional basketball club that is based in Riga, Latvia. The club plays their home domestic league games at Olimpiskais Sporta Centrs in Riga. VEF Rīga is the oldest professional basketball club in Latvia and the Baltic region. The club name VEF came from the radio...
and won the Latvian Basketball League
Latvian Basketball League
Latvian Basketball League is the national basketball championship of Latvia. The first LBL season was played in 1992. From 1992 to 1999 all championships were won by BK Brocēni, however from 2000 to 2006 BK Ventspils were the champions. In 2007, ASK Rīga stopped BK Ventspils winning streak. BK...
championship.
External links
- ESPN.com stats
- The Draft Review profile
- Draft Express profile