Sincere Parker may not be fully recovered from his leg injury of last season, but he is putting a hurt on opponents nonetheless.

McNeese State’s junior guard was named the Southland Conference’s Player of the Week for basketball it was announced Monday.

In three games last week Parker scored 62 points, averaging 26.6 as the Cowboys went 3-0 against fellow mid-major programs. That included a 31-point performance Sunday night against Longwood in the semifinals of the Paradise Jam Invitational on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

“I’m getting better,” Parker said after his 27-point second half lifted McNeese to an 84-69 win over the previously unbeaten Lancers. 

“I have been getting healthier each day,” Parker added. “I have to give credit to my teammates for getting me the ball and putting me in great positions. It all felt good.”

The Cowboys played Liberty in the title game late Monday night. 

Parker made 12 of 17 of his shots from the floor against Longwood and all seven of his free throws. He had 13 points in the first-round win over Illinois State Friday night.

Last Monday Parker finished with 18 points as McNeese knocked off North Texas inside the Legacy Center in Lake Charles. 

“He is a tremendous player,” McNeese head coach Will Wade said. “He is a force on the offensive end. He is very hard to stop once he gets going.”

Parker is leading the Cowboys in scoring through the first six games at 17.7 points a contest despite coming off the bench. His season started slowly however, as he scored just five points while playing only 11 minutes during McNeese’s season-opening loss to South Dakota State while his time was being more limited.

Since then he has scored at least 18 points in four games and is averaging 20.2 an outing.

His game Sunday was the fourth 30-point plus performance of his career and just three off his career-high of 34 he scored against St. Joseph’s while at St. Louis last season.

After playing Liberty McNeese will return home for two games next week starting Tuesday night against another mid-major national program Santa Clara. 

For a story on Monday night’s game check at the AmericanPress.com.