Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Region: East & Southeast Asia

Cherokee Parks

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2018  –  Philippines

A 6 ft 11 in (211 cm), 240 lb (109 kg) center, Parks played his college basketball at Duke University under coach Mike Krzyzewski and won the 1992 national title during his freshman year. After college, he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1st round (12th overall pick) of the 1995 NBA Draft. In his ten season NBA career (1995–2004), he played for the Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Vancouver Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, and Golden State Warriors. He averaged career-highs of 7.1 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game during the 1997–98 season with Minnesota. Parks came out of retirement in 2011 to play in France.

Brian Cardinal

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2013  –  Malaysia

Brian Lee Cardinal (born May 2, 1977 in Tolono, Illinois), nicknamed “The Custodian” or “The Janitor”, is an American professional basketball player who has most recently played for the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to being drafted to the NBA, Cardinal played college basketball at Purdue University. Brian Cardinal attended Unity High School in Tolono, Illinois where he played basketball with his brother, Troy. He led the Rockets to an 86–25 record during his high school career, where he averaged 23.5 points during his Junior year and 24.1 points per game in his Senior year. He scored 40 points in two different games. On April 15, Brian was selected as the Coca-Cola All-American Most Valuable Player, where he scored 24 points and 13 rebounds for the West team.

After graduating from high school, Cardinal attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana to play under head coach Gene Keady and assistant coaches Frank Kendrick and Bruce Weber. Cardinal was redshirted during his Freshman season. During the 1996–97 season, Brian averaged 10.6 points a game and grabbed 182 rebounds on the season. He recorded his first collegiate double-double in only his second game against Western Michigan with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Along with Juniors Brad Miller and Chad Austin, he helped lead the Boilermakers to an NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance.

Brian was selected as a team captain for his Sophomore season, where he averaged 12 points and grabbed 178 rebounds, while leading Purdue to a 28–8 record. He helped lead the Boilers to a Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Averaging 11.4 points and grabbing 186 rebounds in his Junior season, he scored a career high 33 points in a game against Michigan. Along with teammate Jaraan Cornell, he was named a Third Team All-Big Ten selection and led Purdue to a second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance with a 23–13 record. Cardinal played his last collegiate season with career season highs with 203 rebounds and 13.9 points a game. The Second Team All-Big Ten selection helped lead the Boilermakers to an Elite Eight appearance in 2000 during his Senior year and to a 24–10 record.

Brian Cardinal is second in career starts at Purdue with 125, behind E’Twaun Moore. His career 259 steals at Purdue is the second most in school history behind Chris Kramer’s 260 (2006–2010). His Freshman record with 51 steals in the 1996–97 season was also surpassed by Chris Kramer’s 64 a decade later. He received the nickname, “The Custodian”, due to the way he cleaned the floor diving for loose balls. Brian left Purdue being the only Boilermaker to receive both the “Mr. Hustle” Award and the “Courage” Award four years in a row. On November 28, 2008, ESPN’s Jay Williams compared North Carolina’s Tyler Hansborough to Brian Cardinal’s style of play. While at Purdue, Brian won a Gold Medal at the 1998 Goodwill games; Team USA went 4–1. He was also a member of the 1997 22-and under National Team, which finished 5th in a 12-team field.

Cardinal was selected the 44th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. During his rookie season, playing in only 15 games, he had his best game against the Toronto Raptors on April 11, 2001, scoring a season-high 9 points, 4 rebounds and a game high three steals in 18 minutes. Playing in a total of 23 games for the Pistons in two seasons, he averaged 2.1 points a game and shot over 80 percent from the free throw line.

On September 11, 2002, he was traded to the Washington Wizards along with Jerry Stackhouse and Ratko Varda, for Richard Hamilton, Hubert Davis and Bobby Simmons. Cardinal was waived shortly after playing in only five games for the Wizards.

He spent the rest of the 2002–03 season playing in the Spanish league for Pamesa Valencia. He was instrumental in leading Pamesa to the ULEB Cup Championship.

After returning to the NBA, he signed with the Golden State Warriors. Cardinal had a breakthrough season with the Warriors, averaging nearly 10 points and 4 rebounds per game, appearing in 76 games. He was a finalist for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, eventually won by Zach Randolph. On February 11, 2004, Cardinal scored a career high 32 points against the Phoenix Suns and just three weeks later he had his career high of 14 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls on February 28.

After a breakthrough season in personal numbers and playing time, Cardinal signed as a free agent with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he posted similar numbers from the previous season, averaging almost 6 points and 2.5 rebounds in the four seasons with the Grizzlies, while injuries diminished playing time. During the 2006–07 season, Brian held career highs of field goal percentage (.494) and free throw percentage (.926).

In June 2008, Cardinal was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of an eight-player deal. Teamed with fellow forward Kevin Love in his eighth season in the NBA under head coach Kevin McHale and assistant coach Jerry Sichting, a former Boilermaker, Brian averaged 3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game for the 2008–09 season. He recorded his career high three blocks in a game against the New York Knicks on March 13, 2009. In the 2009–10 season, while appearing in 27 games for the Wolves, he averaged a team-low 9 minutes per game and went 21–21 from the free-throw line. On February 17, 2010, Cardinal was traded to the New York Knicks for Darko Miličić.[1] He was subsequently waived by the Knicks.[2] On March 23, he was re-signed by the Timberwolves.

On September 27, 2010, Cardinal was signed by the Dallas Mavericks.[3] On May 8, 2011, Cardinal hit the 20th three pointer in Game 4 of the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers series. His three pointer tied the record for most three pointers by a team in one playoff game with 20, which hadn’t been done since the Seattle SuperSonics did it against the Houston Rockets on May 6, 1996. Cardinal won his first NBA championship with the 2011 Mavericks in a six game playoff series against the Miami Heat. He agreed to sign a new one-year contract worth the veteran minimum on December 12

Brian’s father, Rod Cardinal, was the Illini’s head basketball trainer at the University of Illinois for three decades, from 1973 to 2003; he remains with the Illinois men’s basketball team as their special projects coordinator. Brian served as a towel boy for the 1989 Illinois Final Four team. Brian is married to former walk-on Purdue standout, Danielle Bird. The couple is currently involved with donations to the Purdue University athletics, along with former Purdue quarterback, Drew Brees.

Alexander English

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  China
  • 2014  –  South Korea
  • 2015  –  Italy

Alex English was born January 5, 1954 in Columbia, South Carolina. English stayed true to his homegrown roots, starring at local Dreher High School before moving on to play collegiately at the University of South Carolina.

Following his career at South Carolina, English was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 23rd overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. During his time in Milwaukee, English learned the game as a backup as the team tried to rebuild following Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s departure. English was traded to the Indiana Pacers in 1978, where he began to show flashes of his scoring ability, averaging 16 points per game. Midway through the 1979-80 season, he was traded once more to the Denver Nuggets where he would solidify his reputation as a prolific scorer. From 1980-1990, his entire tenure with the Nuggets, English averaged 26 points per game, earned 8 All-Star bids, became a 3-time All-NBA Second Team selection, led the league in scoring in 1983 and became the franchises’ all-time leading scorer. To add to the list of impressive feats, English led the Nuggets in scoring in 55% of the games he played for Denver. Following this decade with the Nuggets, he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in 1990, where he would play for one season before finishing his NBA career.

After being away from the game for a few years, English got into coaching, spending one season each with the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks as an assistant coach prior to joining the Toronto Raptors organization. There, he would spend 2004 – 2011 as the Director of Player Development and as an assistant coach. In the summer of 2011, English finished with the Raptors and spent one season with the Sacramento Kings.

Tim Gebhart

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  China

Tim Gebhart graduated from the University of Hawaii, Hilo with a degree in education. For 8 years following college, he worked alongside MLB Hall of Fame Shortstop Cal Ripken Jr and 12 year MLB player Bill Ripken where he traveled the world teaching baseball “The Ripken Way”. Throughout his time in Baltimore, he was able to complete his masters degree in special education at Northcentral University.
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In 2013, Gebhart was introduced to Sean Casey, the President and founder of the Miracle League of the South Hills. Gebhart helped him start Sean Casey’s Champions Camp during the summer to help raise money for the field and the playground located in Boyce Mayview Park. In 2016, Gebhart moved to Pittsburgh to become the executive director of the Miracle League of the South Hills and Casey’s Clubhouse.

Ron Roenicke

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2015  –  New Zealand

A native of Covina California where he attended Edgewood high school and was rising star in baseball. Ron was drafted four times: the Oakland A’s in 1974, San Francisco Giants in 1975, Detroit Tigers in 1976 and the Atlanta Braves in 1976. Ron declined to sign all four years and elected to play collegiate baseball at UCLA. In 1977 was drafted by the Dodgers and chose to sign with one of the top franchises in Major League Baseball, and eventually made his Major League debut at the age of 24 in 1981.Ron played 8 years in the Majors for 6 different teams and played in 527 games with a career batting average of .238.Since retiring from baseball as a players Ron has worked his way through the coaching ranks over the years and is now the manager for the Boston Red Sox.

Matt Backert

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  China

Matt Backert played baseball and soccer from 2002 to 2006 at Neumann University in Ashton, Pennsylvania. During this time, he earned various All-Conference and team honors in both sports. After graduating from Neumann, Backert spent seven years overseeing baseball operations for Ripken Baseball, including leading its instructional programs, such as camps and clinics. From 2007-2010, he served as a Baseball Coach Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, a position that led him around the world, including China and Nicaragua, to facilitate camps and coaching clinics to teach baseball to youth and coaches. From 2014 to 2017, Backert was the head baseball coach at The John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland. In 2018, Backert joined Community College of Baltimore County Essex Athletics as an Assistant Head Coach for the Knights. In late 2019, Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk Athletics announced Backert would become the Lions’ new head coach of their baseball team.

Joe Logan

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  Colombia
  • 2010  –  Taiwan
  • 2011  –  South Korea
  • 2011  –  Philippines
  • 2012  –  Ecuador
  • 2013  –  India
  • 2015  –  Lithuania

Joe Logan was All American pitcher for Florida Southern College when the Moccasins won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 1988. He had previously played for Chipola Junior College where he also won All American honors.

The Montréal Expos took him in the 28th round of the 1989 amateur draft. Joe played minor league ball in the Montréal Expos organization from 1989-1991, then played one year in the independent Northern League in 1993. He was 4-7 with a 2.88 ERA in his pro debut for the Jamestown Jammers to help them to the New York-Penn League title. He split 1990 between the Rockford Expos (10-2, 2.63) and West Palm Beach Expos (1-0, 1.88). Had he qualified, he would have been 5th in the Midwest League in ERA, just ahead of Pat Rapp. Back with West Palm Beach in 1991, he fell to 6-12, 3.18. In 1993, he was 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA for the Sioux Falls Canaries to finish with a 21-22, 3.13 record in pro ball.

After his Major League Baseball career ended, Joe was a minor league pitching coach for the Anaheim Angels from 1994-2000. Since 2002, Joe Logan has served as coach for the Orlando Reds AAU organization and he continues to work with collegiate and professional baseball players on a regular basis.

Brady Anderson

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2011  –  Japan

Born in Silver Spring, Maryland, Brady attended Carlsbad high school in Carlsbad California where he excelled in baseball earning a scholarship to the University of California where he also studied economics. Brady was selected 10t hoverall in the 1985 MLB amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. Brady played 15 seasons in the Majors for 3 different teams and was also a 3 time All-Star and also still ranks amongst the top 10 Orioles in career batting leaders for games. In 2004 Brady was inducted in the Orioles Hall Of Fame. On November 8th to 16th 2011 Brady joined Ripken on a trip to Japan as a Sports Diplomat to help spread good will to the local community that was at the time effected by the earthquake and tsunami in March.

BJ Surhoff

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2007  –  China

After attending Rye High School, B.J. Surhoff was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1982 MLB June Amateur Draft. In 1985, Surhoff was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the first round of the MLB June Amateur Draft. Surhoff’s MLB debut was with the Brewers the in 1987. In the positions of Left Field, Catcher, and Third Baseman, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. Surhoff retired in 2005 after a 19-season career. In 2007, Surhoff was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame.

Billy Ripken

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  China

Billy Ripken grew up surrounded by baseball because of his father Cal Ripken Sr. who played and coached for the Baltimore Orioles. His father, his brother, and himself made baseball history when Ripken was picked by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 1982 MLB Draft. He played in MLB from 1987–1998 for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers (1993–94, ’97), Cleveland Indians (1995), and Detroit Tigers (1998).

In 1990, Ripken had his most successful campaign offensively. He batted .291, the highest total of his career and a mark which would lead the Orioles in 1990. Ripken finished fifth among AL second basemen with a .987 fielding percentage and led AL hitters with 17 sacrifice hits. Billy committed a total of 11 errors, the fewest in major league history among second baseman-shortstop combinations. In 1992, Ripken hit what would be a career-high four home runs, batting .230 with 76 hits and 36 RBI in 111 games. He had a .993 fielding percentage.

Since his baseball career, Ripken has written several books on the development of young baseball players as well as novels that illustrate the difficulties of parenting and children’s lives as child athletes. In 2001, Bill and Cal Ripken, Jr. Co-Founded the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation as a tribute to their father’s devotion to teaching life skills and lessons through sports. Their foundation helps to build character and teach critical life lessons to at-risk young people living in America’s most distressed communities.