ANN ARBOR, Mich. — T.J. Parker has never been bashful, and Wednesday he proved it’ll take more than a stomach virus to give him butterflies.
In his first game since fully recovering from an illness, Parker played 37 minutes of turnover-free ball and had his best shooting night of the season. The Northwestern junior scored off the dribble, hit fade-away jumpers, made sharp cuts to the basket and called for the ball when it seemed no one else wanted to shoot.
The feisty point guard hit 6-of-9 shots, including all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished 3 for 4 from the foul line in scoring 18 points, matching his season high.
“I was feeling great,” Parker said. “I was off for 10 days, so I had the most energy out there. I could do anything I wanted.”
NU coach Bill Carmody said Parker had a good practice Tuesday and he felt Parker was getting his legs back.
“It was good to see,” Carmody said. “That was one of his better games he’s played in a while.”
It was evident Parker was healthy within the game’s first three minutes. In the early going, center Davor Duvancic hit Parker with a pass as the guard cut to the basket. Parker was fouled by Courtney Sims and stepped to the line for two free throws.
He bricked the first free throw, but it would be his last miss until the 12-minute mark in the second half.
“Parker’s very hard to guard,” Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. “He seems to save his best for us.”
It was the style in which Parker knocked down his shots that was the best sign for the Cats. Parker, who Carmody has said needs to be the leader on the court, showed that he could be a go-to scorer.
He hit two key shots to end a pair of Michigan runs. Coming out of the final media timeout in the first half, Parker dribbled around a defender, pulled up and drained a floating 18-footer to end an 11-2 Wolverines run.
With 10:11 remaining in the second half, Parker drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with the shot clock winding down to pull the Cats within three, 52-49.
“Every time I had a wide open look, I knew it was going down,” Parker said. “I was feeling pretty good.”
Due to the stomach virus, Parker was limited to five minutes Saturday at Michigan State and sat out for the first time in his collegiate career Jan. 5 against Indiana. But while he was recovering, he put his time to good use.
“I just came out to the gym every day and worked on my shot,” Parker said. “I had to get back in shape — (shooting’s) what I’ve been doing the past week.”
The extra work paid off.
“T.J. played great today, ” NU guard Tim Doyle said. “He was definitely a huge boost — it was good to see he’s back at 100 percent.”
Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].
