Fellow coaches have named Wes Parker a recipient of one of the highest honors in region basketball.
The Buford boys basketball head coach, a seasoned veteran, leads in his 11th season with the program and 17th year coaching the sport. In terms of his head coaching days, however, Parker continues to frolick in his youth.
Parker enters the finishing stages of his second season as the Wolves’ head coach. He brought Buford to its second-consecutive undefeated campaign in region, tournament championship and No. 1 seed position in the state playoffs. As a result, region coaches named Parker the 8-6A Coach of the Year.
Buford (24-3) opened 6A postseason play with a 78-56 win over Carrollton on Feb. 18. Buford extended its winning streak to 15 games, and it will continue the playoff run against Etowah on Friday.
“It means a lot, because these awards are voted on by the coaches in our region,” Parker said. “Those are my colleagues and the people I compete against. For them to vote for me, it means a lot to me on a personal level and professional level. It really means, though, that you have good players. I wouldn’t be Coach of the Year if I didn’t have good players.
“It’s as much about the guys and coaches I have that helped me get the award. I don’t overlook that.”
Buford has two players to lead the way in Carmelo Williams and Dillon Nixon. They post double-digit scoring totals nearly every game. Parker, however, didn’t hesitate to include the supporting pieces that make the Wolves’ machine run. Along with Williams and Nixon, Kyle Carpenter also received an All-Region honor. Torre Costin was an All-Region honorable mention and named to the All-Defense team.
The importance of supporting pieces can be said about Parker’s staff, too, comprising five assistant coaches — Chezley Watson, Brent Martin, Emerson McClung, Paul Villarroel and Carlton Jackson.
“It’s pretty easy (to make the vote) when his teams have gone undefeated the last two years in the region,” Mill Creek head coach Matt Welch said. “That’s remarkable and a testament to good players, but also to Wes’s work ethic and teaching skills. Wes and his staff do a great job of enhancing the winning culture they’ve had there for so long. They expect to win.”
Parker said Buford plans its schedule each offseason to prepare for the region grind and the eventual region tournament — which has resulted in consecutive championships. The Wolves had a strong showing in a holiday tournament in Florida to go along with significant non-region victories over North Oconee and Southwest Dekalb.
Parker believes it allows Buford to prove itself battle-tested. In addition to the tough slate, a number of Wolves’ victories came by one possession. Due to the 24 hard-fought wins it has already posted, Parker deems Buford’s season as a success and sees the results to come in the playoffs as “icing on the cake.
“They have a really good team with a bunch of good players, but (it is impressive) to go undefeated in our region with how balanced it is this year,” said Collins Hill head coach Ty Bumgardner, who dropped a one-point decision to Buford in the region championship. “To have that target on your back every night, that’s a heck of a coaching job by Wes.”
By defeating Carrollton decisively in the first round, Buford returns to the place it fell a season ago — the round of 16. The Wolves fell to one of the premier programs in the state, Norcross, after missing 15 free throws. Parker believes that a deeper run can be had in 2025 for a few simple, yet vital, reasons. He believes his current group of Wolves not only have a true love of playing for Buford, but for each other. Parker sees a rarer level of connectedness within his team, and looks forward to seeing it pay off within the box scores.
The Wolves are led by a Coach of the Year, after all. That might pay off in the long run.
“The kids care about playing for Buford and like playing with each other,” Parker said. “They understand the importance of playing for the seniors on our team. We’ve been in some tough battles, and they’ve always handled it well. The chemistry this team has gives me hope.”
