Jabari Parker at Nike EYBL Dallas 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Jabari Parker, the consensus No. 1 ranked player in America in the class of 2013, had to leave NBPA Top 100 Camp before its conclusion. Parker left Virginia to head out to Colorado for his obligations with the USA U17 team.
Prior to his early exit, The Shiver had the opportunity to speak with the 6-foot-8 small forward out of Chicago.
“Kansas is a real good program,” Parker said. “They just made the national championship. When I go to college I wanna win. So, whatever school is hot, I wanna go there.”
Kansas is one of many schools from coast to coast coming after Parker. The rising senior at Simeon (IL) holds scholarship offers from many of the nation’s elite programs, but he is going to be trimming is list.
“I plan on cutting it down,” Parker said. “I have to cut my list down. I have seven or eight or nine schools.”
The silky smooth wing has a plan for when he will be chopping off some of the programs he is no longer interested in.
“[I will] cut it down to five in July,” Parker said. “I don’t know yet [who will be on] my list.”
Parker does not have a timetable for a commitment, but he knows that when he does announce his choice it will not be in a flashy way.
“Keep it simple,” Parker said of how he will declare his choice. “I don’t wanna show up the school or my teammates.”
The son of ex-NBA player Sonny Parker, Jabari is interested in seeing how products from different schools have fared once getting to the League.
“I look at the players [schools] had in the past, how they were so successful [and] what they did in the NBA,” Parker said.
In addition to schools’ former players, Parker also checks out the landscape of college basketball as it stands today. He talked about some of the teams that he spent time watching during this past season.
“It was a couple of teams I looked at,” Parker said. “Kentucky, [their] penetration I think fits my [style of play]. Kansas, [with] Thomas Robinson in the post. A lot of the top players [I watched, such as] Austin Rivers.”
Cleary Robinson and Rivers are very different players, but there is good reason why Parker would have his eyes on both a power forward and a shooting guard.
“I can play pretty much every position on the floor,” Parker said, quite accurately.
Although there are many college coaches coming after Parker, he has some assistance in dealing with them from his parents.
“They help me a lot,” Parker said. “They take the questions from coaches.”
Parker was interviewed by numerous media members at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, just as he is at most events that he goes to. Of the attention from the press, he said, “It makes me stronger.”
His stardom not only brings media spotlight, but also could lead to a target on his back in the minds of other players looking to make a name. However, he is not concerned about that.
“I don’t put too much pressure on myself,” Parker said. “I just wanna have fun out there and [improve] as a player.”
