Kobe Parker of Chicopee, Isaac Percy of Taconic & Nora Young Receive Top Honors
Springfield, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the recipients of the 10th annual Western Massachusetts Player of the Year awards – co-winners Kobe Parker of Chicopee High School and Isaac Percy of Taconic High School, as well as Nora Young of Granby High School.
Parker is a four-year varsity starter and a three-year varsity captain at Chicopee. He has achieved many accolades and overcome many obstacles. Parker is a three-time 1st Team All Western Mass recipient and 3 time unanimous All Valley Wheel recipient. He has scored over 1,000 points and grabbed over 900 rebounds, despite tearing his ACL during his sophomore season. Just seven months later he was back on the court, not missing a single game or practice and leading his team to the Western Mass Championship game. This season, Parker had an emergency appendectomy causing him to miss three games, but he was on the sidelines a day removed from surgery rooting his team on. When not working on his craft, Parker spends his time at the Boys and Girls Club of Chicopee or volunteering at basketball camps. He is currently weighing his four-year college options for this fall.
Percy is a four-year member of the Taconic program and a three-year starter. He has led the team in scoring for three seasons, recently eclipsing the 1,000-career point total. He is a true gym rat, always working on his game, and inspiring others as a team captain his senior year. He is well liked among his teammates, coaches in the Taconic community. Percy has had many great moments in his high school career, but none more special than winning two Western Mass. Championships and getting to two consecutive State Finals. He is a very good student and will surely be continuing his education this fall, although he has not yet decided where he will be playing college basketball.
Young just finished her fifth year as a varsity player and concluded her career as the all-time leading scorer for boys and girls with 1,702 points. She led the team the past two seasons in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, free throw and 3-point percentage, while averaging a double-double per game. With a tremendous work ethic and passion for the game, Young has continued to grow as a player, a leader as a team captain the past two years, and also a great student and member of the National Honor Society. She is a wonderful person who has earned the respect of her teachers and staff at Granby, as well as coaches, teammates and opponents who have competed against her. She will be attending American International College next year on a full basketball scholarship.
“We once again praise the outstanding seniors who were selected as Western Mass. All-Stars, and we congratulate Kobe, Isaac and Nora on their Player of the Year honors,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “We wish all these remarkable young athletes well and know they will make Western Mass proud as they continue their basketball and academic journeys.”
The Western Mass Players of the Year will receive their awards privately next week. At this time, the Basketball Hall of Fame remains closed for renovations and will remain closed until May 1st. COVID-19 conditions will be closely monitored in the coming weeks and precautions will be taken upon reopening. Additional updates will be provided as they become available.
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow @hoophall or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.