If you follow high school basketball at all, you’ve probably heard of Jabari Parker, the standout rising junior who is near the top of all the recruiting boards for the Class of 2013. Some call him Grant Hill with a jump shot, and that’s because his versatility and aggressiveness is only a sign of things to come.
As a sophomore at the always-dominant Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, Parker averaged 15 points and six rebounds per outing in helping his squad to a 4A State Championship. With two years of high school to go, there’s time for improvements in both his weaknesses skill-wise and in increasing his strength.
That’s not to say he isn’t already beating up on the older guys. Most recently, one such outing came at the LeBron James Skill Academy in Akron, Ohio, where Parker stacked up nicely against guys like Justin Anderson, a 2012 small forward committed to Virginia.
While only power forward Julius Randle of Prestonwood Christian Academy stands in front of Parker in the ESPN recruiting rankings, Parker can pretty much pick and choose where he’ll attend college. He has offers from the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State, but there’s an interesting twist to his eventual choice.
As a follower of the Mormon faith, the darkhorse in his recruitment could be BYU, according to National Hoops Report.
What do you think?
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