Lurking in the Big South Conference is a man whose name you should know, but you don’t. That’s what makes me so sad. For Radford University fans he is a household name but one that opposing play by play guys have yet to get right. My only hope is that Reggie Miller, Marv Albert & gang get it right next year.
Artsiom Parakhouski, a 6’11” 260lb beast from Belarus, a country smaller than Idaho arrived at Radford University last year as a Junior and immediately made an impact on the school and the team. Pronounced art-SEE-um pair-uh-COW-ski, Art has only been playing basketball for the last five years — and learning English for less than three. His quiet yet stoic demeanor made him an instant hit with the fan base. His intensity and dedication to the winning made opponents rethink their game plan. In just a year he lifted a team that was near the bottom of the conference to an NCAA appearance. So far this year he is tied for 2nd in the nation in rebounding and 4th in the nation in points scored per game.
Before Big Art started basketball in 2005, he was being groomed to play soccer in Belarus. Soccer is his first love, but coaches back home told him he was very literally ‘growing’ out of the sport. He still wanted to compete so his coached introduced him to basketball. Imagine how he will be 5 years from now. He already has more accolades than most players that have been playing 4 times longer.
Now I know the criticisms, I have heard them all: ‘he isn’t in the ACC’ or ‘level of competition’, but let me tell you this, he can stack up with anyone. Maybe you saw his double double against Kansas that included an excellent block on Cole Aldrich? No one in the Big South Conference can stop him and even Duke’s coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “He will be a first-round pick, easy, in the NBA,” “he would play for anybody in our league.”
I generally can’t stand the NBA, but what that attention can do for a mid-sized University is incredible. Art Parakhouski is a guy you can pull for too. He has no off-the-court issues and he isn’t flashy during the game. He simply hustles and plays hard. So as we get closer to the conference tournaments, keep your eyes out for Art and Radford because with any luck, the Belarusian will carry the team on his shoulders back to the NCAA Tourney.
~ Gordon Southard, Big South Enthusiast
Filed under: Basketball, College Hoops, Uncategorized | Tagged: NCAA Basketball, Radford University, Art Parakhouski, Mid Majors
Gordo,
If you buy his NBA jersey next season, I will too. I will make an extra effort to watch this cat over the next two months. By the way, you know what they say about girls from Radford???? Coming from Idaho, I would say Artsiom made the right decision if he wanted to pad his stats.
If Art can get a consistent 10 ft jumper and refine his ball skills a bit he will be a legit NBA power forward/center.
This guy is a man among boys…he would wreck house in any conference. He is consistently being double and tripled teamed every game and is till putting up 20+ point and 15+ rebounds a game. He is sick.