There are only nine days left until “Armageddon”, December 28th, when the Cardinals play Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl and Kentucky in the annual basketball game, so I figured we could have a little fun with a countdown to make things go by faster. Every 24 hours we’ll look at a current or past player from each sport that wore the jersey number that coincides with that particular day. For example, there are nine days left, so we’ll start by focusing on the current No.9 on the (11-1, 7-1) football team, DeVante Parker and from basketball we’ll look at former guard, No.9, Phil Rollins.
Photo – Shane Stovall
No.9 DeVante Parker has been a scoring machine in his brief time at Louisville
DeVante Parker is a big play receiver and threat to score at anytime during a game. He excels at climbing the ladder up and over defensive backs and using his athleticism and strong hands to snag touchdown after touchdown. His six receiving touchdowns during his freshman season (2011) were second most all-time behind Arnold Jackson (1997) and fellow Louisville native, Mario Urrutia (2005) who each had seven.
Parker followed up his stellar rookie campaign with 10 scores in 2012 and currently has 11 touchdowns this season. If “Spider Man”, as he is known by his teammates, can get two more receiving touchdowns in the bowl game he will surpass the all-time record of 12 in a season currently held by Ibn Green in 1998. He currently sits alone in third place all-time with 27 receiving touchdowns behind Green (33) and Arnold Jackson (31).
*Bonus Info* – Parker’s grandfather, Willie Parker, recently told the Courier Journal’s Adam Himmelsbach,
“We think Will Gardner would come in and make DeVante’s stock go up. He’ll know where his bread-and-butter is at!”
The elder Parker went on to say that DeVante would be back for sure unless he is projected to be drafted in or near the first round. For the record, nfldraftscout.com projects Parker as a fourth-round selection and that is great news for Louisville fans and most importantly Will Gardner who will likely be Teddy Bridgewater’s successor should he leave early.
Parker is a fantastic talent but also a very good person. Shy, quiet and reserve he doesn’t really embrace being in the media spotlight or tooting his own horn and I find that very impressive about him. One of my favorites to ever put on the red and black, I think he will smash the all-time receiving touchdown record at UofL and with just his average type of season next year, he will enter the top five in receiving yards and top 10 in receptions.
Photo – UofLcardgame.com
Phil Rollins taking in the Lady Cards vs. St. John’s in 2011
Phil Rollins was a 6-foot-2, 185 pound guard from Wickliffe, Ky that played from 1952-1956. He was the team captain of the 1956 squad that won the NIT (National Invitation Tournament). Known for being a consistent scorer, he finished his college career at UofL with 1,060 points and once scored 37 points against EKU as a senior. The 37 point outing is the sixth highest all-time in a game at Louisville. He averaged 9.6 points per game as a freshman followed by 13.2, 13.3 and 14.9 giving him a career average of 12.5 ppg leading to UofL honoring his No.9 jersey.
Rollins was more than a scorer, he was a leader and his teammates looked up to him. His leadership helped the Cards win to the tune of 89-24 over his four seasons and winning over 20 in three of the four. Rollins was drafted by Philadelphia and played three years in the NBA with four different teams. Rollins also played in the American Basketball League. In his NBA career Phil averaged 5.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
*Bonus info* – Rollins’ brother, Ken, was a star at Kentucky before becoming a professional basketball player and was also a member of the 1948 NCAA and Olympic Gold Medal teams.
