Hall of Fame
Antonio Parris started four seasons for coach Max Good's EKU Colonel basketball team from 1983-87. He finished his career with 1,723 points scored in the 102 games in which he played and is currently the number three all-time leading scorer in EKU history. A member of Eastern's All-Century basketball team, he began his collegiate career in grand style, leading all NCAA Division I freshmen in scoring in the 1983-84 season with his 18.8 per game average. He amazingly scored in twin digits in all of the 26 games in which he played that first season, save one where he had to leave with an injury after scoring eight points in the first six minutes of that contest. The possessor of a kangaroo-like 46-inch vertical jump, he averaged more than 20 points against high-profile opponents Vanderbilt, Auburn, Dayton, Memphis State, Xavier and Cincinnati that freshman season. He was favorably compared that initial year to former University of Louisville All-American and NBA star Darrell Griffith. He finished second in the OVC in scoring, was a second-team All-OVC pick and honorable mention All-American by The Sporting News as a freshman. Although missing eight games his sophomore season because of an injury, he still averaged 14.5 points per game, finished as the sixth leading scorer in the OVC and was again named as an honorable mention All-American. Highlights of his junior season showed him with a 31-point night against Miami (Ohio) and a 50-point, two-game scoring spree to be named to the All-Illini Classic team while finishing ninth in the OVC in scoring. He closed his career at Eastern with a stellar senior season that saw him average 20.5 points per game which was fourth best in the OVC that year. His best outing that season came in a packed house in Alumni Coliseum against SEC powerhouse Auburn when he poured through 34 points against the Tigers. He also led the OVC in free throw percentage while setting a school single season record of 88.6 percent that still stands as a Colonel record today and hit 46.7 percent of his three point shots to finish second in the conference in that category. He made first team all-conference honors as a senior and held the distinction of being Eastern's all-time leading scorer for 20 years. Upon graduation, he was signed as a free agent by both the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, but ended up playing in the Continental Basketball Association for two seasons.
