SB Nation Chicago - Jabari Parker Recruiting: Nation's Top Senior Still Weighing College Options

Jabari Parker not concerned with No. 2 ranking

2012-11-13T18:19:23Z

Jabari Parker, one of the top high school basketball players in the country, isn't worried about being dropped from the top spot in the class of 2013 prospect rankings. Parker, out of Simeon Vocational in Chicago, was moved down to the No. 2 ranking when Andrew Wiggins reclassified as a class of 2013 recruit.

On Monday, Parker said, "it's unimportant to me ... At the end of the day I'm going to be in college and they aren't really going to be ranking people." Parker added that improving his game was the most important thing to him, but that his dad got a little upset about the ranking.

The 6'8 small forward has narrowed down his college options to five choices. Parker is reported to be deciding between Duke, Michigan State, Florida, Stanford and BYU. He is still in the process of visiting schools and isn't expected to make his decision until after the early signing period.

Jabari Parker recruiting: Simeon forward still not hinting at a favorite

2012-11-08T00:33:09Z

Jabari Parker still doesn't have a front-runner in his recruiting process, despite the fact that the talented teenager has visited Michigan State, Duke and Florida the last three weekends.

Per ESPN, Parker's father confirmed that Parker will commit after the early signing period, which runs from Nov.14-21.

"I talked to him the other day. He's got to choose what is going to be the right fit for him. That's where we're at. Once we get through the visits, he'll start deciding where everyone is, start doing the comparisons."

Parker's season is slated to get underway on Dec. 1, but the high school senior's status for the opener is in jeopardy. Parker is still rehabbing a fractured right foot, an injury he suffered during the summer. Parker is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Nov. 19, which will go a long way to determining Parker's status for his season opener.

Parker, who attends Chicago's Simeon Career Academy, also plans to visit both Stanford and BYU in November, before making a decision on where he'll play collegiately.

Parker is considered one of the top prizes in the Class of 2013, and ESPN ranks the 6'8" small forward as the No. 2 prospect in his recruiting class.

Jabari Parker named to USA Today's preseason all-USA team

2012-11-06T22:27:12Z

Another honor was added to Sports Illustrated cover boy Jabari Parker's long list of awards for basketball prowess by USA Today this week. The publication named Parker to its 2012-13 high school preseason All-USA team, a list of 10 scholastic stars. Parker, a forward, can lead Simeon High School to its fourth straight 4A state title this season, doubling up fellow Simeon product Derrick Rose's back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

Parker is still undecided on where he will play college ball. Duke is a possible front runner for Parker's talents next season. Parker's short list also includes Michigan State, Brigham Young, Florida and Stanford.

Whitney Young junior Jahlil Okafor, a 6'9 center, is also on the USA Today All-USA preseason team. Okafor, a distant cousin of Washington Wizards center Emeka Okafor, was named MVP at the FIBA U-17 World Championships and averaged 24.8 points and 12.6 rebounds last year while leading his team to a berth in the state semifinals.

Jabari Parker projected as No. 2 pick in mock 2014 NBA Draft

2012-10-19T22:34:18Z

Jabari Parker, a high school senior from Chicago, Ill., is projected in a mock by NBADraft.net as the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The 6'8, 225-pound small forward, who attends Simeon Vocational in Chicago, is still mulling college options for next year. It has been reported, however, that his list is down to five schools, including BYU, Florida, Duke, Stanford and Michigan State. In its NBA Comparison feature, NBADraft.net matches Parker with New York Knicks centerpiece Carmelo Anthony.

In the mock, the website has Parker going to the Washington Wizards at No. 2 in 2014, behind only 6'7, 200-pound high school junior Andrew Wiggins out of Toronto, Ontario.

NBADraft.net's profile of Parker describes him as an "ultra-skilled forward with an innate, natural ability to play basketball," saying, "while it is awfully early to start making predictions on the 2014 draft, Parker (if eligible) is my favorite for the first overall pick."

Jabari Parker recruiting: Simeon forward likely only to give verbal commitment in fall

2012-10-16T23:13:32Z

Simeon High star Jabari Parker will in all likelihood only be making a verbal commitment to his school of choice this fall. Parker has five official visits scheduled before the early signing period closes on Nov. 21.

Parker is scheduled to visit Stanford from Nov. 18-20, so unless he decides on a school early and forgoes the remainder of his schedule, he will have only one day to make a decision within the fall signing window. Parker is also scheduled to visit Michigan State, Duke, Florida and BYU, his other four finalists.

Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal spoke to Simeon coach Robert Smith on Tuesday. Smith thinks that even if Parker only issues a verbal commitment in the fall, that will be his final decision:

"Once he makes a decision I know that’s going to be it," Simeon coach Robert Smith said Tuesday. "That’s not how he or his family operates.

"I told him, if you get to a place where your heart is in it and you feel like this is the place for me, then there’s no sense in taking those other visits, if this is how you feel. … Make sure you choose what is going to be best for you."

Parker will be visiting Michigan State this coming weekend. Spartans coach Tom Izzo and assistant Dwayne Stephens visited Simeon High Tuesday to make final plans for the weekend.

Jabari Parker announces top five: MSU, BYU, Duke, Florida, Stanford

2012-10-05T19:50:07Z

Jabari Parker, the consensus No. 1 men's basketball recruit for the class of 2013, has announced his short list of the top-five schools and it includes Stanford, BYU, Duke, Michigan State and Florida. Parker has already scheduled official visits with the Duke Blue Devils (Oct. 27), the Florida Gators (Nov. 2-4) and Michigan State. Reggie Rankin of ESPN broke the news of Parker's top-five list on Friday:

Just spoke with ESPN 100 #1 player Jabari Parker. List cut to five. No order Stanford, BYU, Duke, Mich St, Florida
— Reggie Rankin (@ReggieRankin) October 5, 2012

Parker's original list included 11 schools -- Kentucky, Stanford, Michigan State, Kansas, Florida, Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina, BYU, DePaul and Connecticut. He had in-home visits with all of those schools except for Georgetown and Kentucky.

His head coach at Simeon, Robert Smith, recently told ESPN Chicago that Parker is looking for a school that can prepare him for how to deal with the money and fame he may accrue during his very promising basketball career.

Jabari Parker recruiting: Simeon forward will visit Florida in November

2012-10-05T12:33:11Z

Jabari Parker is the nation's No. 1 men's basketball recruit for the class of 2013, and he has scheduled an official visit with the University of Florida for Nov. 2-4 as his selection process moves forward. Parker had placed 11 schools on his initial list -- Kentucky, Stanford, Michigan State, Kansas, Florida, Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina, BYU, DePaul and Connecticut -- and every school on the list except for Georgetown and Kentucky made an in-home visit. Parker is now setting up campus visits, and he has already selected three schools and is expected to add two more to create a top-five list.

The Simeon star will head to Duke for an official visit on Oct. 27, and then follow that up with his trip to see the Florida Gators from Nov. 2-4. He also has an official visit planned with Michigan State at an unknown date. Simeon head coach Robert Smith told ESPN Chicago that there is a long-term plan behind selecting schools for his top-five list:

"He's looking at schools to see how they can prepare him. He watched the ESPN movie 'Broke' the other day, and we had a conversation about that. He saw how a lot of people financially were out of money now. That's something he's really looking at. He doesn't want that to happen."

Smith added that he thinks Parker will release his full top-five list sometime this week.

Jabari Parker plans unofficial visit to Duke on Oct. 26

2012-09-28T20:42:12Z

Considered by many to be the top basketball recruit of the 2013 class, Jabari Parker of Simeon Career Academy in Chicago is reportedly set to take an official visit to Duke in late October, according to Adam Zagoria.

Parker, a 6'8, 225 pound small forward, has drawn interest from several other schools, including Florida, DePaul, BYU, Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke, Connecticut, Georgetown and Kentucky, according to CSN Chicago.

The exact date of his official visit with coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils is Oct. 27, which coincides with Duke's first exhibition of the year against Western Washington. If Parker was added to their already strong recruit class, Duke would undoubtedly have the nation's top recruit class.

Duke has already received commitments from small forward Semi Ojeleye and shooting guard Matt Jones, the nation's No. 30 and No. 32 best players, according to Rivals.com.

Per NCAA rules, Parker will have the opportunity to take five official visits before making his official decision which is expected to come in November.