Gary Parrish: An Interview for Writers and Fans Alike

A couple of weeks ago, I requested an interview from CBS's College Basketball Columnist, Gary Parrish, and he gladly approved. My website and I strung together some questions from a college basketball standpoint and a writer's standpoint as well. With that being said, I thought it would be very appropriate to post it on here.

Enjoy our interview!

Ya Sports!:  When did you decide you wanted to cover college basketball? Did anyone influence you? What major career decisions have you had to make and what obstacles did you have to overcome?

Parrish: I didn't decide as much as my job decided it for me. I worked at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, my hometown paper, straight out of college, and my goal was to get the best job at that particular paper. At The CA, that job was covering Memphis basketball. So I worked like crazy to prove to my bosses that I was worthy of that job, and when I got it I worked like crazy to prove I deserved it. In the process of doing that, CBS called and offered me its college basketball columnist job. So here I am. But it's all rooted in nothing more than that I happened to work in a town where college basketball was huge. If I worked in Austin, I think I would now be a college football writer. But I lived in Memphis, and the best job in Memphis was covering college basketball, so I became a college basketball writer. It really is that simple.

Ya Sports!:  What advice can you give to young aspiring writers?

Parrish: Read. And write. Then read some more. And write some more. College and classes are great, but that's not where you learn to write. You have to read and write and listen, and realize that you're not nearly as good as you think. I read things I wrote when I was 22 or 25, and it makes me cringe, and I was supposedly pretty good back then. Or at least I thought so. But I've changed so much, and I'm still changing, still figuring out what works and why. So that's my advice: Read, write and don't be hard-headed. Unless you're Shakespeare -- and you're not -- there's a good chance you're not as good as you think. The best writers are the ones who understand that when they're young and work to get better. Don't be afraid of criticism, and don't be too stubborn to accept it. And read and write a lot. Did I mention that?

Ya Sports!: Which team(s) are your favorite to make a deep run in March? Teams that will drop off?

Parrish: Kansas and Kentucky, I think, are the two best teams in the nation. They have the best players and best records, and I won't be surprised if they play for a national title. Who will fall off? Anybody outside of the top five or six is vulnerable. The number of really good teams this year is low. I wouldn't trust anybody outside of the top five.

Ya Sports!: Who is the Player of the Year in your opinion?

Parrish: John Wall. He's the best player on one of the two best teams, a freshman point guard who is averaging 17 points and six assists while leading a school that was in the NIT last season to a projected No. 1 seed. He's taken over games when necessary, won them in the clutch with jumpers, drives and layups, and free throws. Just a fantastic talent. To me, it's obvious. But I recognize the greatness of Evan Turner, too.

Ya Sports!: What is your opinion on the expansion of the NCAA tournament?

Parrish: Hate it. As someone who projects the field every March, I can tell you I've never felt like I was leaving out a possible national champion, or even a good team. When I get to the final at-large bids, I'm always picking between average teams, trying to figure out which average team deserves a bid. Expansion will only put more average teams in and by extension cheapen the achievement. There are lots of problems in college basketball, sure. But how the sport finds its national champion isn't one of them.

Ya Sports!: How did you get to be a CBS columnist?

Parrish: Like I said, they called me, right after the 2006 Final Four. They were promoting Gregg Doyel from college basketball columnist to general columnist, and they needed somebody to replace him. My name was on a list of people they thought might make good replacements, for whatever reason, and from there it was fairly typical. They interviewed me and, I think, three or four others. Somehow, they settled on me. Probably best to just call it dumb luck. Either way, I'll take it because it really is a fun gig, and I'm lucky to have it.

Ya Sports!: Considering your five seasons covering John Calipari's Memphis Tigers, what do you think of him as a coach and his future at Kentucky?

Parrish: He's one of the best program-builders in the history of the sport, and I'd hire him to run my program, too. I realize he has detractors, and for good reason. But he's guaranteed to get results, and what he did at UMass and Memphis is unprecedented (as are the vacated Final Fours, I know). As for his future at Kentucky, it's bright, and it probably includes a national title or two ... as long as he's there. I still believe he'll eventually return to the NBA, and if he gets a chance to coach LeBron James he'll do it. But short of that, he'll be at Kentucky long enough to win championships, which is why UK hired him. He'll be incredibly successful, just like always.

I'd like to thank Mr. Parrish for taking his time to do this interview. It will definitely help the young aspiring writers, as well as the older ones. Hope you all enjoyed our interview!

For more, you can visit my website, www.sportsmemorabiliagt.webs.com/