William Henry "Smush" Parker (born June 1 1981) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Parker played shooting guard in college, but moved to point guard in the NBA.
Parker was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up playing basketball. He gained fame playing in 'The Cage' basketball courts on West Fourth Street and earned nicknames such as NBA Live. Parker attended Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, where he was a star guard on their varsity basketball team. He then enrolled in at the College of Southern Idaho as a freshman in the 1999-2000 season and transferred to play college basketball at Fordham University. Following his sophomore season at Fordham University, he entered the NBA in 2002, but went undrafted. Days after being cut by Heat, Parker signs with Clippers During his sophomore season, he was Second Team All A-10 and Second Team NABC All-Region.
The name "Smush" was originally his father's nickname and was handed down to him by his uncle Naid (pronounced Nide), who died when Parker was eight years old.
