Marc Narducci: Out of nowhere, it's Tyrone Parker

Tyrone Parker had a game fit for an all-star even though his profile was considerably lower.

Parker plays for Leap Academy, a charter school in Camden that hasn't been in the forefront of hoop headlines lately.

Leap Academy doesn't compete in a South Jersey conference and is unknown to many people.

One game doesn't make a career, but Parker showed off his skills by scoring 22 points, winning the slam-dunk contest at halftime and helping the West beat the East, 158-134, during yesterday's 32d annual Albert J. Carino Basketball Club of South Jersey senior all-star game at Eastern.

Even some of Parker's all-star teammates had not heard much about him before the team converged for a practice session.

"He is really amazing," said Mark DiRugeris, a Woodbury first-team all-South Jersey guard, who scored 23 points for the West and was named his team's game MVP. "I didn't know much about him until we got together, but he's athletic and really skilled."

The 6-foot-2 Parker admitted that he entered the all-star game with trepidation. Even though he averaged more than 22.6 points as a senior and scored 1,157 for his career, he said he hasn't played in front of such a big crowd since his freshman year.

That was when Leap won the South Jersey Group 1 title and eventually lost to powerful Bloomfield Tech in the state final.

So unlike many all-stars who enter a game with a carefree attitude, Parker couldn't immediately relax yesterday.

"I was nervous, but by the second time I went into the game, things were fine," he said.

They sure were.

In the second half, he hit all five shots from the field, including three three-pointers. For the game Parker made 8 for 13 from the field, including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc.

"Even though I was nervous at first, I let the game come to me," he said.

One West player familiar with Parker's game is Camden's Aaron Walton-Moss, The Inquirer's South Jersey player of the year. Moss said he and Parker have played together frequently on the playgrounds.

"I wish he came and played for Camden," Walton-Moss said.

Parker and Walton-Moss seemed to have good chemistry. On one fourth-quarter fastbreak, Walton-Moss made a pass near the basket and Parker did the rest, jamming in a one-handed dunk.

Parker said if he didn't attend Leap Academy, he would have gone to Pennsauken High.

Now the next step is choosing a college. While Parker wants to continue his basketball career, his destination won't be determined solely on his jump shot.

That's because he carries a 3.6 grade-point average and hopes to major in engineering.

"I have a lot of Division I schools interested in me because of my grades," he said.

Rowan is one of the schools he has talked to for basketball and academics.

Whoever recruits Parker will be getting a player with unbelievable hops, who can hit the three and drive to the basket. He could play either guard position.

And Parker will be a major asset to any program that wants to raise its team grade point average.

He loves basketball but is even more serious about his education. And in his final high school game in South Jersey, Parker certainly educated the many fans who didn't have the privilege of seeing him during a career that included everything but some extra attention for all that he accomplished.