Jabari Parker Eliminates Illini

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Jul 13, 2012 3:00PM

Simeon superstar basketball player Jabari Parker, a rising senior, caused a stir by tweeting the list of colleges he's considering. Considered by many to be the top prep basketball player in the country, the 6'9" forward is coveted by all college basketball programs from coast to coast. Unfortunately for some local schools, the interest does not appear to be mutual. While the DePaul Blue Demons made the cut, the University of Illinois Illini did not.

@jabariparker22's list included: Kentucky, Stanford, Michigan State, Kansas, Florida, Duke, BYU, Georgetown, DePaul and North Carolina. As the top prospect in the land, it's no surprise to see a who's who of elite b-ball programs on the list. While BYU might not be quite the elite program of most on his list, the fact he's Mormon explains his interest in the Cougars. With his 3.7 GPA, schools with academic reputations to equal their ones in basketball surely all want to add Parker to their roster and his list includes such schools as Duke, Georgetown, and Standford and North Carolina. Most others on his list are the standard Final Four regulars like the Jayhawks, Wildcats and Spartans.

DePaul appears to be on the list because it's a home town school. But given their program's ineptitude since the Meyers left, perhaps his inclusion is no more than a courtesy mention. However, the University of Illinois didn't even earn that much. The Illini failed to make Parker's list of ten, which suggests the school continues to have issues recruiting in the city, an issue that helped end the Weber era and was a reason that a number of high profile mid-major coaches turned down the head coaching job in Champaign.

While apparently tight lipped on which way he is leaning, some believe that Michigan St. is in fact Parker's top choice, followed by Duke. He's expected to announce what school he will attend sometime before the start of his senior season in November. Not that it matters all that much where he ends up playing college ball, since he's likely one-and-done before jumping to the NBA.