The Cavalier daily :: Friday, March 2, 1973 :: University of Virginia Library

"The fans should realize
what Barry Parkhill has done
for University basketball. The
first game I saw was against
VMI and only 2000 people
showed up – most yelling
'Boot the Hoot!

"Then this year Barry's
average drops and the fans
berate him. That's unfair. The
Maryland game will probably
be his last appearance at U-Hall
and there will undoubtedly be
a pre-game ceremony. What a
shame if U-Hall is only half
full. I say don't look at this
season only; consider his four
years here. When Barry stands
up, there should be an ovation
as loud as thunder."

A characteristically
unselfish remark by Parkhill's
co-captain, Jim Hobgood.
Though his point totals and
press coverage are dwarfed by
last season's ACC Player of the
Year, his words hint of brotherly
praise.

Fourth-Year Forward Jim Hobgood Follows Through On Shot

"The fact that Allen
Bristow received as much
in-state publicity as Barry last
year bothers me. Bristow may
be Tech's star, but he's not
even in the same league as
Barry."

Rumored the most
articulate Cavalier, Hobgood
speaks confidently and
intelligently. Having shared the
young team's leadership with
Parkhill, he talks frankly of a
season's frustration:

"Everyone is disappointed
about our performance. We've
lost to three teams –
Princeton, St. Louis, and
Clemson twice that deep
down inside we know we're
better than.

"But luck tends to snowball
and we surely haven't gotten
the breaks like last year. My
last second shot at St. Louis
that was nullified by the
referees, for example.

"We definitely have proven
ourselves unpredictable
though, and, if for that reason
alone, we'll be respected in
the ACC tournament."

Hobgood remembers the
1971-72 seventh-ranked squad
as very special. Although he'll
never admit it, one infers that
Hobgood enjoyed his most
pleasurable basketball then.

"The guys were so great.
And rooming with three of the
four seniors, we were very
close friends. The other one,
Tim Rash, was married and
of course had another
roommate."

Thin, but not uncommonly
tall, Hobgood is as amiable and
interested as a best friend. His
Huckleberry Finn red hair
suggests a mischievous cut up.

Hobgood admits being the
"team instigator" and at least
in first-year-man Wally
Walker's case, team initiator.

After the first Wake Forest
victory, Hobgood phoned the
then injured Walker. Imitating
the team trainer, Joe Geik, he
ordered Walker to room 200 to
receive a therapeutic drug.

As Hobgood explained, "He
bought my story completely.
After five minutes, I called his
roommate Andrew Boninti to
make sure the "Rookie" was
alright. When Andrew finally
found Wally on the second
floor, he was still looking for
200."

Three years back,
Hobgood's Cavayearling team
was endowed with three Jim's
and to avoid confusion,
Parkhill dubbed him Hobo.
(My friends pronounce it
'Ha-bo', but there are many
varieties of pronunciations)
and the nickname stuck.

The epithet 'pure shooter'
implies the singular talent to
burn the nets but nothing else
– no rebounding, no defense.
The 'Union Town Bomber' has
heard the term, but is not
discouraged:

"Sure there's been flack
about my poor defense. And
against some teams Coach
Gibson can't hide me. Coming
out of high school, Gus Gerard
and I didn't know what
man-to-man was."

Hobo is neither conceited
nor overconfident; he once
said, "My greatest failing is my
lack of talent."

And he firmly believes in
the team as opposed to the
individual. Questioned about
scoring averages and personal
headlines, Hobgood forces the
conversation toward Cavalier
victories and national ranking.

Despite the memory of ten
years of focused dedication, or
maybe because of it, there is
no basketball in Hobo's future.
Like a stuffed gourmet after an
extremely satisfying meal, he
has had enough.

Hobgood bears no bad
feelings against the sport. To
the contrary, he asserted, "I
love college basketball. But I've
prepared myself emotionally
for the end because I've
reached the stage where I must
go somewhere else."

Perhaps graduate study or
law school – his plans are at
most nebulous although a
secret ambition is being the
radio commentatorr for
University basketball – the
second coming of Chris
Cramer.

Of course, nothing is
definite. "If the pros called one
day with a $100,000 offer."
Hobo grinned, "now that
would be a different story."