Parson is in his first season as a Division I basketball player, but he’s no stranger to high-level, championship basketball. He played his high school basketball at Kinston High School where he was a three-time all-conference selection and a second-team all-district selection. He committed to WSSU in 2020, and redshirted as a freshman as the CIAA did not participate in basketball.
He blossomed under Hill’s tutelage the next three seasons, earning CIAA All-Rookie Honors in 2022. He helped lead the team to the CIAA title the following season and was named All-CIAA as he averaged 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season. He announced his decision to hit the transfer portal following the 2023-2024 season and committed to NCCU. Once upon a time, transferring from one of those schools to the other would be considered blasphemy. But with the two former CIAA rivals in different divisions and the transfer portal being year-to-year, it’s a new reality for players like Parson who want to play at the Division I level.
He showed up in Durham with championship credentials and a degree, looking to prove himself on the Division I level. There have been highs — including a game-winner against Gardner-Webb — and lows as he’s played the most inconsistent minutes of his career thus far.
“It’s his first year here. So he’s kind of breaking some habits to kind of fit the mold and sometimes it’s been frustrating for him to say the least,” Moton said matter-of-factly. “But, for the most part, he’s been really productive.”
Issac Parson was the second option for WSSU last season, earning Division II HBCU All-America honors from BoxToRow. But Moton wants Parson to get a better feel of when to shoot and pass as North Carolina Central rolls through the MEAC.
“You always have to know time, score, situation. Now they’ve been deemed scoring guards and all of these things where you don’t have to think the game as much,” Moton said. “It kind of bit us in the butt last week. And so I told him he’s good enough and he’s going to be in those positions countless times, and I want him to master those positions.”
Issac Parson is averaging a shade over eight points per game, his lowest average since his redshirt freshman season. But he’s had back-to-back double-figure scoring games while shooting better than 50 percent while keeping his turnovers down. It’s all a part of the learning curve for him as he looks to add to his HBCU legacy at the Division I level.
“My experience at Winston, being on a championship-level team — I know what it takes,” Parson said after the game. “I just be pushing the guys, telling them to keep their head up if they are down, trying to be the leader that coach Moton wants me to be.”