SALT LAKE CITY — It’s fitting that Arizona senior Kevin Parrom has applied for another year of eligibility via a hardship waiver. Few players will ever know more about hardship than him. The Bronx native — whose sixth-seeded Wildcats have a West Region battle with No. 14-seed Harvard tonight — faced more in his junior season than most do in a lifetime.
From losing his grandmother and mother in the span of a month, from being shot multiple times and left in danger of never walking again, even suffering a season-ending broken foot, Parrom knows hardship. And the toughness that let him survive it is a big reason he found his way into the Wildcats’ lineup.
“As you get closer to the end, your guiding force, your leaders are your seniors. With everything Kevin’s been through, it made the most sense to give him that opportunity,’’ Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “He’s really responded and done a great job.
“I hope there’s no one that I can ever compare him to in future, and there’s certainly no one I can compare him to now in terms of the adversity he’s gone through. For him to be where he’s at … in position to get his degree in May … when you have someone like that, it gives your team a lot of character, a lot of courage.’’
Just weeks after Parrom’s grandmother had died, he flew home to say his last goodbye to a mother fighting cancer. On Sept. 23, intruders broke into the home and shot him in the right leg. After he managed to return to the court, he suffered a season-ending broken right foot on Jan. 28. His mother died days later.
But the 6-foot6, 220-pound former St. Raymond’s star and Highbridge native hasn’t used his misfortunate as a crutch, but as motivation. He became Arizona’s sixth man and eventually forced his way into the lineup for the last nine games.
“I’m playing for God right now,’’ Parrom told the Post. “I’m playing for Arizona, I’m playing for New York. I’m playing for my family — my mother and grandmother. There’s a lot I’m playing for.”
No. 1 Gonzaga faces No. 9 Wichita State in the late game.