Halt the hype machine, says one of the elite freshmen receiving a large portion of the attention.
Duke forward Jabari Parker said it is premature for himself or any of the other top freshmen in the country — including Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins, Kentucky forward Julius Randle and Arizona forward Aaron Gordon, considered the best class of newcomers to the sport in several years — to be put on a pedestal laced with hyperbole.
“My opinion, I think it’s dumb that they just highlight freshmen,” the multi-talented 6-foot-8 Parker told reporters Tuesday afternoon at a press conference in advance of Wednesday’ s NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals at the Garden, pitting Duke against Alabama, which follows Arizona vs. Drexel. “I mean, what have we done? We just came in here, played a couple games and they [are] just worried about us [instead of] the entire team.”
Parker’s coach, Mike Krzyzewski, echoed his star pupil, and in the process seemed to be placing some blame on ESPN, which featured Parker against Wiggins in its prime-time slot during the Champions Classic Nov. 12 — part of its college basketball marathon. Krzyzewski noted ESPN also televises the NBA, therefore “the constant thought is cross-promoting.”
“Nationally, I’m a little bit worried that this is always becoming the thing,” Krzyzewski said. “In college basketball, you should not want to tell one story. And if the one story you’re telling is a lead-in to not even your sport, then somehow our sport needs to kind of control that more.”
Prior to the season, Oklahoma State sophomore star Marcus Smart — who surprised many by returning for a second season — took a shot at Wiggins by saying he has yet to prove anything.
“It is all potential,” he said.
Parker agreed with Smart’s take — not necessarily about Wiggins, but his general point.
“Like Marcus said, we really haven’t done anything,” Parker said.
An NBA scout, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Post the big four of Wiggins, Parker, Gordon and Randle needs to be given time. While they are impressive talents, he would like to see how they can hold up as the season deepens.
“You have to see it over a period of time to see how they develop,” the scout said.
Krzyzewski feels Smart hasn’t drawn enough focus for the 6-foot-4 guard’s decision to return to school and his overall skill-set, evidenced by his 39-point explosion in a recent victory over Memphis.
“A beautiful story is Smart staying for a second year,” Krzyzewski said. “That may be the best story.”
The interest in the young guns is obvious. Arizona sports information director Cory Walton said he receives 10 to 15 media requests per day for Gordon, while Duke’s Matt Plizga said this is the most media attention a freshman has ever gotten under his watch at this point in the year, a group that includes Kyrie Irving.
Gordon and Parker said they don’t pay attention to what the other dynamic freshmen are doing. They are more worried about themselves and their respective teams.
“What I’m trying to do is carve out my own legacy,” the gifted 6-9 Gordon said. “It’s a team game. It’s not a one-person game. I’m here to prove Arizona is the best team out here.”
The nation’s top freshmen aren’t unknown commodities entering college, however, because of the frenzied world of recruiting and the frequency with which the top high school programs can be seen on national television or online. Furthermore, they have lived up to the hype so far, the key cogs on four of the top programs in the country.
Parker is averaging team-highs of 23 points and 8.8 rebounds for No. 6 Duke, while Wiggins is averaging nearly 17 points for top-ranked Kansas. Gordon is tallying 13 points and nine rebounds for No. 4 Arizona, and Randle is posting a nightly double-double of 19.8 points and 13.7 rebounds per game for No. 3 Kentucky.
“You might be looking at some of these guys [in time] as some of the great players that have played our game,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said.