Basketball
Favorite athlete: Kyrie Irving
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Hitting the game-winning shot vs Pennsbury
Most embarrassing/funniest moment competing in sports: Andrew Stewart lifting Freddie up like Simba
Music on my playlist: Young Thug, Bruno Mars, etc
Future plans: Graduate and go to college
Words to live by: “Give it your all so you have no regrets.”
One goal before turning 30: Travel to the UK
One thing people don’t know about me: I used to play baseball very competitively
By Craig Ostroff
From the time basketball became a true passion—back in middle school—Bernie Parent devoted himself to putting in as much work and as much time as he could to improving his game.
As a result, countless hours have been spent practicing on playground basketball courts until it was too dark to see … or inside gymnasiums after the doors locked.
“I started putting in a lot of work late in sixth grade,” Parent said. “Fortunately, my dad played at St. Andrews and they’d sometimes leave the gym open, so I’d stay and take shots for hours in an empty gym.
“We lived across from George School and they’d sometimes lock up but there would be a window unlocked, so we would sneak in and take shots for hours. There were multiple times the security guards would find us, ‘You can’t be here.’ They were fun times, though. It’s a great memory to have.”
It’s the work done when no one else sees … the hours spent lifting in the weight room or taking shots in empty gymnasiums … that has made Parent what he is today. The Council Rock North senior captain is among the top scorers in the area this season, averaging 16 points per game, and is just as much a force on the defensive end of the court as he is on offense.
“Bernie is the guy who makes our team run, he really is our engine,” said North coach Jesse Krasna. “Whatever we need him to do, he does it and he does it well. He breaks pressure, sets his teammates up for easy shots, he’s a tremendous rebounding guard.
“On defense, he’s always in the right spot, he communicates with everyone on the court. He’s just as good on defense as he is on offense. A lot of times, your star players are not necessarily the best defenders, but that’s not the case with Bernie.”
His commitment to better his game and work on his skills did not end when he started high school. If anything, Parent was able to recognize the areas of his game that needed improvement and dedicated even more time and effort into being the best he could be.
As a freshman, Parent already possessed a scorer’s touch, but had difficulties creating shots for himself and teammates. The following offseason, that became a focus.
“Each offseason he’s really added layers to his game,” Krasna said. “From his freshman to sophomore year, I think that was the biggest jump. You could see how much more comfortable he was handling the ball and creating plays off the dribble.”
Parent also knew after his freshman season that he would need to improve his strength and aggressiveness. It’s a lesson he learned the hard way, as many freshmen do.
“The seniors I played against did not take it easy on me, they would go at me,” he said. “I knew I needed to get stronger. When you’re playing tough competition, there are some great players who are the hardest players to guard. I wanted to be able to guard them. I always want to be a complete player. Some will go for the offensive stats, I’m trying to get wins.”
A few breakout games as a sophomore put Parent on the rest of the league’s radar. Then he had to deal with a new challenge—being a marked man and drawing the opposition’s top defenders. Once again, he went back to work to overcome those obstacles.
His junior season proved to be challenging for Parent. The pandemic shortened the season, denied the teams the chance to play in front of crowds, and Parent suffered a concussion midway through that cost him four games as well as two-plus weeks where he was unable to even practice. As a result, he never quite got back into the flow.
“Bernie was having a good start, but when he came back, I think it took him out of his rhythm,” Krasna said. “We felt bad, because he was showing so much growth.”
“Coming back, I felt fine physically, but my shot didn’t feel the same for the rest of the season,” Parent said. “It was really hard to go through it, and mentally it was very challenging, especially when I couldn’t practice. But it’s something you have to deal with and take it as a lesson.”
That lesson … to get that rhythm and that shot back, it takes practice, practice, practice.
“I took ton of shots this offseason to get back to where I want to be. I feel like I’m shooting my best now,” he said.
Having regained his swagger and confidence, Parent was ready to come into his senior season knowing this was his team as a senior, a captain, and the returning scoring leader.
“I wanted to prove something my senior year,” Parent said. “I always look at matchups, seeing if there’s someone on the other team to measure myself against and try to outplay. I took it personally this offseason, I went hard, getting in the weight room, being confident every game, no matter the opponent, and I think it’s shown.”
“We could see it leading up to the season,” Krasna said. “You could see him in the offseason getting really comfortable from that leadership standpoint, being more assertive on the court, attacking the basket. This year he added the ability to post up out of the guard spot. If he sees someone smaller, he recognizes it, and takes his man down to the point. You usually don’t see that from your point guard, but Bernie has such a good basketball IQ, and the experience playing 4 years, he’s seen everything.”
Parent’s play has been a big part of the Indians’ 16-7 season (11-5 for second place in the Patriot Division). To understand how much his play means to his team, one needs look no further than the final seconds of an early February game against division foe Pennsbury. Having battled back from a significant deficit to tie the game at 35-35 with 15 seconds left, Parent found himself with the ball.
“We all looked at each other on the bench, deciding if we were going to call a time-out,” Krasna said. “We saw the ball was in Bernie’s hands, ‘We’re not calling TO.’ When he has the ball, he has a knack for making special things happen. When the game’s on the line, everyone has the confidence that whether he takes the shot or makes the decision to give the ball up, he’s going to make the right decision.”
Parent decided to take the shot, and his fadeaway jumper swished through the rim to give the Indians a thrilling 37-35 victory.
“I’ve had a few game-winners in my career, but none were quite as important, or happened in that situation where we had been down with time running out,” Parent said. “To make a run back, make that shot, leading to us getting a home playoff game, that was just a great way to end the season. Hitting it felt surreal, even for an away game, we had a decent student section, all my friends were there, it was great seeing all the fans cheering like that.”
Enjoying the fan reaction was not a one-time moment for Parent. For as competitive as he is, as much as he strives to be the best he can be, Parent truly loves the Council Rock North community. He thoroughly enjoys playing in front of family, friends, and schoolmates, and loves being part of the team.
Parent is quick to list off names of former captains, teammates, and friends who have helped him over the years. He is especially grateful for the seniors who ushered him in during his freshman year and took him under their wing. Now that he’s standing in their place, Parent believes that one of his most important responsibilities as a leader is to do the same for the current crop of youngsters.
“My freshman year, we had a great group of seniors—DJ Mischak, James Duffy, Zach Saifer, Beckett Thompson,” he said. “I was quieter as a freshman, but they welcomed me, and I got more comfortable being more vocal. Even outside of basketball, I was quiet, but they helped me break out of that. I’ve been trying to be a very vocal leader now, and to treat the freshmen and the sophomores who played JV last year how I was treated. Those seniors set a great example for me on how to treat others.”
“Bernie has been great helping them acclimate to the varsity speed and physicality and also giving those guys confidence, which is the most important thing when you step on the floor,” Krasna said. “When a captain and your most experienced and best player is telling you he believes in you, you start to believe in yourself. He’s helped in that area for us, and we’re seeing it with the contributions the younger guys are making.”
With his play, his leadership, and his work ethic, there’s no doubt that Parent has made a name for himself during his tenure at Council Rock North. Doing so, however, was a more daunting task than most face. After all, when your grandfather is a legendary Philadelphia sports hero and an NHL Hall of Famer, you tend to carry some expectations with you simply by sharing his name.
“For me, it definitely added some pressure. People would expect a ton of things just because of my name,” said Parent, who tried floor hockey for a couple years when he was younger but didn’t take to the game the way he did to basketball. “As much as I love him, I didn’t want to be known as Bernie Parent’s grandson. I wanted to be known as Bernie Parent because I was a legitimate player. I wanted to create my own name here.
“I feel like I was able to use that pressure in a positive way. It was always extra motivation to live up to the name. But having been in so many big games in basketball, and also big games in baseball while I was pitching when I was younger, that’s taught me a lot about handling pressure. I’m very confident and comfortable putting in that extra work if that’s what I want to achieve.”
Looking ahead, Parent is still weighing his options for college. He’s drawn interest from several colleges where he could continue to play basketball, and he’s also looking at several large universities. He plans on majoring in a business-related field, possibly finance or accounting.
“I’m really stuck on whether I want to pursue basketball or not,” he said. “Even if I go to a big school, I’ll probably try to walk on, but I’d definitely look to play club or intramural basketball.
“Once the season ends, I think I need to see how it feels for a week not having basketball in my life and seeing how I deal with that mentally.”
Of course, Parent and his teammates are hoping to extend their season for as long as possible. Wherever the postseason road may lead, Parent is going to enjoy the opportunity to have one more game in front of his school community, playing with his friends. And if all goes well, a second opportunity … and a third … and so on …
“Senior year as a whole has been the most fun season I’ve ever had,” Parent said. “Winning is fun when you’re building a culture and everyone buys in. We’ve got great chemistry, a great group of guys, everyone knows everyone. And because we all grew up together, we’re not only teammates but long-time friends.
“I’m very confident with the work we put in, we’re going to go in and play hard. For me as a senior, I’m going in with that thought that every game might be the last time playing with them. It gets me a little emotional just thinking about it, so I want to stretch it out as long as we can. We want to go in and leave it all on the court, enjoy the time we have together, and as long as we do that, we can live with the result.”
And wherever and whenever the Council Rock North season does come to an end, Parent can walk away knowing that he has indeed made a name for himself on his team and in his school, and has left a legacy that will affect others for years to come.
“It’s been fun to coach Bernie and see his maturation, see the growth not just in his game but his confidence,” Krasna said. “When he came in, we knew he was special because of his work ethic and demeanor. But I think his secret weapon is how coachable he is. He picks up on things really quickly and adds them to his game really quickly. That’s a special player who can do that, and it’s allowed his game to grow really fast.
“Combine that with his work ethic … as a coach, I know that when I walk into the gym, he’ll already be there. When I leave, he’s still there shooting. That’s definitely something I’m going to miss. You get used to him always being around. Obviously, everything he does on the floor is special, but his leadership and his work ethic, those qualities are irreplaceable. Bernie is one of those guys who put a strong mark on this program, a kid that for years to come we’re going to talk about the intangibles that made him such a special player.”
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