Kevin Parrom

Kevin Parrom is Mr. Intangible for the Wildcats, and has been since his freshman season in 2009. His overall statistics won't make fans blink at first glance, but watch an Arizona basketball game and you'll quickly realize the value Parrom brings to the table for the Cats. As a sophomore, Parrom nearly doubled his total freshman rebounds, going from 71 in 2009 to 131 in 2010. Similarly, his assists nearly tripled, going from 29 in year one to 75 in year two. Entering his junior season, Parrom was going to be called upon to emerge as one of Arizona's go-to scorers. However, on off season filled with adversity has hampered his growth. On a trip home to visit his ailing mother, Parrom was shot in a "wrong place at the wrong time" type of incident that nearly cost the junior forward his life. In fact, Parrom fought off his attackers to point the gun originally aimed at his head toward the floor. The struggle did result in the weapon being fired with a bullet striking Parrom first in his hand and then lodging in his leg. Today, fragments of the bullet remain, and occasionally a streak of pain can be felt pulsating throughout his leg.

Still, Parrom continues to progress while fighting through the physical and emotional scars. Parrom leads the team in defensive charges and has showed signs of the silky outside jump shot that helped him finish near the top of Pac-12 leaders in 3-Point shooting efficiency as a sophomore. Arizona will continue to bring Parrom along as he recovers, but will undoubtedly ask more of him now that conference play has arrived.

Player Injury Update
Parrom suffered a broken foot in Arizona's home loss to the Washington Huskies in late Jan. 2012, bringing on end to a whirlwind 2011-12 season. The "heart and soul" of this year's team, the junior forward got a heartwarming message from his head coach Sean Miller following Arizona's upset win over California in Berkeley a week later. Parrom who didn't travel with the team and was scheduled to have surgery on his foot the following morning saw his coach tell him and a television audience, "Kevin we got this done for you." Parrom would later tweet, "I love you coach."

Parrom hopes to recover from his foot injury this offseason and become a key contributor to the Wildcats during his senior campaign.