Jabari Parker was an afterthought when the college basketball season began Nov. 8, one of the nation’s other top freshmen in the elite class after Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins and Kentucky’s Julius Randle.
Just four days later, Parker was the main attraction at the Champions Classic, played in his hometown of Chicago at United Center, when the dynamic forward piled up 27 points against Kansas and Wiggins on national television.
The scintillating performance, although in a loss, reminded the nation why the 6-foot-8 phenom graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior in high school and at the time he, not Wiggins, was predicted by many to be the next great prospect.
“For him to come out and perform the way he did — there were so many people there he knew, he grew up with — was truly amazing,” Duke assistant Jeff Capel said. “Whenever you see a kid do something like that on that kind of stage, it lets you know he has a little something different in him than most kids.”
This week, Parker will be the story in New York City as the NIT Preseason Tip-Off comes to Madison Square Garden.
Parker has stolen the buzz of Wiggins and Randle, leading Duke to a 4-1 record and averaging team-highs of 22.4 points and 8.8 rebounds. He’s the first freshman to score more than 20 points in each of his first four collegiate games since Michael Beasley and Eric Gordon in 2007-08.
“I think he’s the most polished freshman of this class,” CBS analyst and former Knicks guard Greg Anthony said. “He doesn’t have the holes in his game at this stage that you see with most young guys who have great talent.”
A devout Mormon, Parker, 18, has steered clear of the comparisons to Wiggins and Randle, wanting his play — and Duke’s won-loss record — to speak for itself. He said he is concerned with becoming a complete player, rather than where he could be selected in next June’s draft, if he declares following the season. But the question of who’s No. 1 has motivated him, Capel believes.
“He doesn’t talk about it, but I know how competitive he is,” Capel said. “Quietly, I’m sure it’s something that has been driving him to prove he’s one of the elite guys.”
That night in Chicago, Parker impressed the capacity crowd and the loads of NBA scouts with his athleticism — throwing down a one-handed alley-oop when his chin rose to the rim, and hoisting a hanging, pump bank shot in which he switched hands in the air — the knock on him entering college.
Teammate Andre Dawkins was surprised when Parker got to campus and showed similar ability. A fracture in his right foot the summer before his senior year, Capel believes, is what held Parker back, and led to that alleged weakness. He went seven months without basketball, put on weight and played at less than optimum capacity his senior year.
He has been given the kind of offensive freedom legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski only bestows on his very best freshmen — guys like Kyrie Irving, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill. Parker has impressed his new coaches with more than his exception talent.
Capel described Parker as an “old soul.” His interests extend past basketball, ranging from music to art, his favorite player is Oscar Robertson and he’s a deep thinker, on the court and off.
“One of the best attributes that Jabari has is his mind — he can do things we can’t teach him,” Capel said. “There’s some things he’s going to do that are going to make us look really good.”
Parker has reminded many experts of transcendent Syracuse freshman Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks forward who led the Orange to a national championship in 2002-03. Like Anthony, Parker can score on the perimeter as well as in the paint, has a mid-range game few players possess, and is too big for a guard to handle and too quick for a forward.
“I could see some similarities in there,” Anthony said in a video posted by Bleacher Report. “The way he sees the game, his feel for the game, that’s a big key in college. Not too many people have that in college.”
Parker’s fast start doesn’t surprise those familiar with him. He followed Derrick Rose at Simeon High School in Chicago — enormous pressure for a hyped youngster. Parker, however, won four state titles, besting Rose, and never was overwhelmed by the intense attention, a quality that seems to have continued in college.
He scrimmaged against Rose when he was in middle school and considers the Bulls star as a role model.
“It was great having a chance to play behind him,” Parker said. “The historical significance about it has just made me want to play harder each and every day. He’s done so much for the program, and I just want to make my career the best possible. He’s someone I looked up to more than anyone else in high school.”
Said Dawkins: “He’s dealt with that a long time and it doesn’t seem to faze him.”
Even more impressive was the grace in which he handled all the praise and deftly dealt with the pressure. After games, rather than soaking up the attention or talking to girls, Parker was often feeding Gatorade to the junior varsity or freshman teams, doing “things most superstars don’t do,” said Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s Jake Flannigan, such as complementing him on a new haircut.
“There’s something different about Jabari Parker,” said Flannigan, who estimated he covered 60 percent of Parker’s high school games his junior and senior years. “He’s unique to any high school athlete that I’ve ever seen before. He deals with pressure in a way others are incapable of dealing with.”
The start of the college basketball season backs up that claim — that night in Chicago in particular.