SDSU GETS TRANSFER PARRISH OF OAKLAND U.
Detroit-area product, dad, were fans of Fisher’s teams
Micah-Immanuel Parrish grew up in Detroit and played his first two college seasons just north of downtown at Oakland University. The 6-foot-6 lefty entered the transfer portal this spring and visited Michigan State, which is 80 miles east and which just lost its top two wings.
Detroit kid … Michigan State … most figured that was that.
Except it wasn’t. A day after quietly visiting San Diego State, Parrish announced Wednesday he will become an Aztec instead. He won’t have to sit out as a first-time transfer and will have three years of remaining eligibility.
The connection? Parrish’s family grew up University of Michigan fans. They already knew all about
Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher and predecessor Steve Fisher, who guided the Wolverines to the 1989 NCAA title and twice more to the championship game with the Fab Five.
“Steve Fisher and Brian Dutcher, they are Michigan,” said Emanuel Parrish, his father, who met Dutcher and spoke on the phone with Fisher during their recruiting visit earlier this week. “They’re just on the other side of the United States now. But they’re Michigan guys. I’ve always loved that style of play.”
Another sign: Emanuel joined the Navy after high school and was part of an F-14 squadron at Miramar air station from 1988 to 1993 that was attached to the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. When they arrived for their visit, he looked across the harbor and there, docked at North Island, was the Carl Vinson.
That offered a comfort level. So did the West Coast. Micah-Immanuel Parrish spent a year at Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix and wanted to finish his college career in warmer weather.
There’s also this: He’s the embodiment of SDSU basketball — a long, versatile, tough, athletic wing with an underdog mentality who actually enjoys getting in a defensive stance and guarding multiple positions. His favorite player is Kawhi Leonard, less for his offense than that he can lock up.
Parrish averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds in 34.3 minutes for a 20-win Oakland team last season, shooting 35.3 percent behind the 3-point arc (46.2 percent in 17 conference games) and 80 percent from the line. He also was named to the Horizon League’s
all-defensive team.
“He’s not a party type of guy,” Emanuel Parrish said. “He’s a gym rat. He’s strictly about getting between the lines and going to work. Off the court, he’s more of an introvert and sticks to himself for the most part. Basically, he’s one of those kids who is all basketball. Having access to a practice facility 24 hours a day, man, that’s really going to make the difference for him. He’s got a high ceiling.
“He’s got a chip on his shoulder. That’s the mode he’s in, to prove himself.”
It’s no wonder Michigan State wanted him. He had 19 points and eight rebounds in December in a 90-78 Spartans win.
Parrish also visited West Virginia. He had a doubledouble (10 points, 12 rebounds) against the Mountaineers in the season opener.
He also got calls from Illinois, Alabama, Arkansas, St. John’s and Iowa State, who were said to be wooing him as well.
So how did SDSU get involved? Aztecs assistant coach JayDee Luster, who was also instrumental in landing Seattle guard Darrion Trammell, knows Jermaine Kilbourne, Parrish’s AAU coach in Detroit. Parrish added SDSU to his list of visits and phoned coaches the morning after he returned to Detroit to inform them he was committing. He made it official a few hours later on social media.
“Everybody here had their opportunity,” Emanuel Parrish said of why his son opted to leave the state. “He wasn’t heavily recruited at all coming out of high school. Every last school here in Michigan had an opportunity to get Micah. They chose not to go in that direction. That was a choice that they made. I had to spend money to send him to prep school (in Arizona) because I knew the type of kid and player he was.
“I knew he had it in him. I knew the type of player he was. He played in front of all these coaches but we still didn’t get a call. So we’re not too much concerned about that. Everybody had their opportunity.”
The addition of Parrish, plus forward Aguek Arop’s announcement last week that he’s returning, fills 12 of an allotted 13 scholarships for the 2022-23 season. Nathan Mensah, the Mountain West defensive player of the year and a four-year starter at center, could claim another if he withdraws from the NBA Draft before June 1 and exercises his option for a fifth “COVID” season.
Teams were allowed to go above the scholarship limit last year only if they had seniors returning for a “COVID” season, and the Aztecs began the season at 14. But Che Evans Jr. transferred at the semester break, and Keith Dinwiddie entered the portal after the season. They also lost seniors Trey Pulliam, Joshua Tomaic and Tahirou Diabate.
They have two incoming freshmen in Miles Byrd from Stockton and Elijah Saunders from Phoenix, plus Parrish and Trammell from the transfer portal.
SDSU got visits last month from two guards, Oregon State’s Jarod Lucas and Coastal Carolina’s Rudi Williams, and both are expected to announce transfer destinations this week. But after landing the versatile Parrish, who provides a 3point threat on offense and can guard four positions on defense, the Aztecs are no longer believed to be involved with them.
The next step is to wait for Mensah’s decision after receiving pre-draft evaluation from NBA teams. People around Mensah have indicated he won’t wait for the June 1 deadline, so an announcement could come in the next week or two.
Dinwiddie finds new school
Dinwiddie has found a new home: Weber State. The Wildcats went 21-12 overall and finished third in the Big Sky at 13-7, but they are losing Koby McEwen (18.2 points) and Rancho Bernardo High alum JJ Overton (12.4).
The 6-foot sophomore guard appeared in 23 games for SDSU, starting once, over two seasons and averaged 3.5 points. After shooting 45.5 percent on 3s as a freshman, he dipped to 27.0 percent last season and couldn’t get off the bench. His season high was 12 points against Long Beach State.
As a first-time transfer, the former Los Angeles city player of the year from Fairfax High won’t have to sit out and will have three years of eligibility remaining.