RALEIGH, N.C. — It’s far too early in Jabari Parker’s career for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to compare his prized freshman with Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony. But the similarities are difficult to ignore.
Parker is a healthy 6-foot-8, 235-pound scoring machine who can dominate a game with his will and his talent. Anthony is listed at 6-8, 235 pounds and is virtually unstoppable when he wants to be. Parker, like Anthony, can score in the paint or from beyond the arc, and neither minds the pressure of being the best. Picture Anthony 11 years ago and you can see Jabari Parker.
The only real difference is Anthony accomplished the ultimate by leading the Orange to their first national championship in 2003. Parker begins his quest to do the same Friday when the third-seeded Blue Devils take on 14th-seeded Mercer in a Midwest Region game at PNC Arena.
“One of the reasons I came to Duke is to get a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, to be on this stage,” Parker said Thursday. “I’m very excited. Me and the team are well prepared and I’m just excited to be here.”
When Duke’s run in the NCAA Tournament is complete, Parker is expected to declare for the NBA Draft. But his college legacy will be meaningful only if he can win a championship as Anthony did. It will atone for losing to Virginia in the finals of the ACC Tournament last week.
“The only way you can leave a legacy and you can leave behind memories is by winning a championship,” Parker said this week. “I know we just came up short [in the ACC Tournament]. I’ve got to try to do something big now.”
It won’t be an easy task.
The Blue Devils (26-8) are in the same region as unbeaten Wichita State (34-0), red-hot Louisville (29-5) and second-seeded Michigan (25-8). There’s no guarantee they’ll get by Mercer (26-8). While Duke is playing in its 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Bears, champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference, are playing in their first NCAA Tournament since 1985. But they have a senior-dominated team that shouldn’t be rattled by the opponent or the setting.
“The amount of respect we have for Mercer and their program is as high as it can be,” Krzyzewski said. “We know that [Friday’s] game is going to be a very difficult game.”
Krzyzewski also has high respect for Anthony, which is why he is hesitant to make any comparisons with Parker. Krzyzewski coached Anthony for several years as part of the Olympics and USA basketball.
“Jabari’s going to be an outstanding pro, but he’s in the process of development,” the Duke coach said. “To compare the two now, there is no comparison. But in three, four, five years, Jabari, I think, will be a franchise player. He’ll be a 25-points-a-game scorer in the NBA. But he’s still developing.”
It’s frightening to think how much better Parker could get. He averaged 19.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season and reached double- figures in 17 straight games and 32 times overall to set a freshman record. He has also scored a team-leading and freshman-record 656 points.
It compares favorably with Anthony, who averaged 22.5 points and 10 rebounds as a freshman at Syracuse. He was also named the Outstanding Player of the 2003 East Regional and the Final Four to become the first freshman since Pervis Ellison in 1986 to lead a team to the national championship.
There was a time when freshmen weren’t counted on to lead teams to a national title. But that’s all changed now with players leaving college early to turn pro. It’s why Krzyzewski is nervous about playing an experienced team such as Mercer.
“There are teams who are seeded in double digits in this tournament that can give any team in that one shot, a run for its money and beat them,” he said. “That wasn’t the case a decade ago. Now it’s the norm because of the age difference, the experience of playing together.”
Forget the norm. Parker wants to “do something big” like Anthony.