"For all basketball players, the real dream is to play in the
NBA. It is in the NBA that the best players play. In France, if you talk to
little boys, they know all of the NBA players and not one single Pro A player.
And, even though, it is not the most important thing, you have to realize that
in the NBA the lowest paid player still makes more than the highest paid player
in France. And without the taxes..." If you ask Tony Parker about the United
States he will take off and never stop.
For him, the NBA, is the
ultimate goal, the only one which motivates his career. It seems, that that
dream should be coming true and pretty quickly,. This year he was chosen to got
to the Nike Hoop Summit, a selection of the best junior world players against
the best junior American players. He caught the eye of many recruiters with his
performance on the court and by his statistics. Since them he has been courted
by every American University. All of them want him to come and play in the NCAA.
"It is my dad who deals with the contracts. In the United States they are very
isolationist. But when they go through my dad they remember one thing pretty
quickly, I am half American. Even my name works in my favour: Tony Parker, it
isn’t a French name. On the other hand, if you take Rigaudeau, he is a very
strong player, one of the best Europeans, but he won’t go the United States
because for the Americans, those who aren’t from their country don’t know how to
play."
Conscience of the rules on the political side of things, Tony
Parker seems to be progressing just fine. He is not afraid of leaving and being
abducted in the American mentality. "At home, my dad speaks to me in English, I
respond in French, but with PS-G, I was the translator for the Americans." he
tells us. Besides, at the end of last season Tony had his choice: having
finished his baccalaureate (French High School Diploma), in his pocket, in
September he will leave for Georgia Tech to play two seasons before entering the
NCAA draft.
