Jabari Parker explains why he chose Duke

Jabari Parker will play for the Duke Blue Devils and head coach Mike Krzyzewski next season, but he chose Duke over Michigan State, Florida, BYU and Stanford for reasons beyond basketball. Parker explained his choice during the televised special held at his school on Thursday afternoon, and he cited the combination of basketball tradition and athletic excellence at Duke as the reason he committed to the program:

"What brought me to the decision was, of course, the history. Duke is always going to be a team in the tournament. You can't go wrong at that program. Also, most importantly, was the long-term investment. I feel like if I go there I can get a good degree."

He claimed his campus visit to Duke was "the worst on-campus visit" of his recruitment tour, but he appreciated that the Blue Devils showed him that "college is all business." Michigan State fell out of the running because Parker decided he didn't want to encroach upon Braden Dawson's territory or come in and "ruin everything."

Ricky O'Donnell of SB Nation Chicago also offered his pre-decision take on the nuances of Chicago recruiting that may have played into Parker's decision as well.

Here is a video of Parker explaining his decision in his own words, via CSN-Chicago: