I was in the Las Vegas airport when I got my first glance of the latest issue of Sports Illustrated featuring the latest high school basketball phenom Jabari Parker.
Parker, a Chicago native, of course is a major Duke target out of the class of 2013. He is also the top target for most major Division I programs in the country being rated the No. 1 recruit in his class.
He is so highly regarded that before Nerlens Noel reclassified to be eligible for the class of 2012, becoming the No. 1 rated prospect in that class, he was No. 2 prospect in the class of 2013 behind Parker.
In the Sports Illustrated article it talked about how Parker is a humble guy, a kid devoted to his family and his faith. Rased as a Mormon, Parker will have to make a decision in a couple of years as to whether to take the traditional mission.
While reading other sites I came across a piece written by Ted Cox, from ChicagoReader.com discussing how the Sports Illustrated article did little but hype an otherwise humble guy.
I would tend to agree with at least that much of his point.To have a junior, rising senior in high school, on the cover of a major sports magazine is a lot of hype and a lot of pressure. That isn't to say that Parker doesn't deserve it or can't handle it, but it is a lot of pressure.
Remember that guy named Harrison Barnes who Skyped his way into the hearts of the college basketball world? He was said to be the greatest thing since sliced bread when he came into North Carolina as a freshman. He was even voted a preseason first team All-American having never played a single game.
How'd that turn out? Well he wasn't exactly a bust, but he wasn't the second coming of Michael Jordan either. He failed to make one Final Four. He won 0 ACC Tournament titles, and if you include preseason tournaments, he won 0 of those.
Now that wasn't solely his fault, but the type of player many thought he would be thanks in part to the hype, just didn't pan out.
Parker is playing high school ball in a much more competitive environment than Barnes' Iowa. Chicago High School Basketball is serious and he is clearly the best player there. But the hype from the Sports Illustrated piece has him being compared or at least put in the same breath as Lebron James.
The piece claims that Parker is the best player since James. That is a lot of pressure to put on a kid who has not even played a single game of college basketball, not that James ever did, or even needed to do.
In the ChicagoReader.com piece, Cox brings up a good point in that there have been a lot of great high school players since James and before Parker. He uses Derrick Rose as his primary argument against such a pronunciation and it is a good point.
I'm not a fan of proclaiming kids to be the second coming, or the "next" version of any player. I find it best to let them come into their own naturally. Some are more ready than others to do that right away. If scouts and coaches are to be believed, Parker might be in the later category.
But we don't know just yet and won't until we see him play on the next level.
Cox does make an interesting point that I tend to disagree with about Parker's decision on taking his Mormon mission. Parker, if as good as everyone thinks, is likely to be a one and done type player. However, after his one year he will have to decide whether to take his mission and spend a year away from the game.
When he comes back does he lose anything being away from the game? Does he need another year of college to shake off the rust? Or is he so good he can go straight to the NBA?
Cox seems to hint at the idea that Parker considering skipping his mission to avoid a lost year of wages. I personally have no opinions on what Parker should do, it is his faith and his choice, but as a Duke fan I have to like the attitude and dedication if he were to take his mission.
To me it symbolizes a kid who doesn't put himself before everything else. That means he is a team player and Duke thrives with skilled team players. There is still a long way to go in his decision making process, but he sounds like a kid that I'd be happy to see at Duke, and not just because he is the most skilled player in the class.
The Blue Devils have a shot, and perhaps Mike Krzyzewski being a Chicago native himself has some kind of hometown, inside edge. I don't honestly know.
I do know that the more publicity that Parker receives the more pressure he will likely have to face as the expectations mount. The Sports Illustrated cover story makes him a household name if he wasn't already so a lot of eyes will be on him now and every decision will be scrutinized.
My hope is the kids continues to remain humble and make decisions that are best for him and not in the interest of facilitating that hype. If he can do that he is destined for a solid career no matter where he goes.
And of course I hope he chooses Duke, but like I said that is a long wait, though we Duke fans have become use to that.
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