Jabari Parker To Announce College This Afternoon [UPDATE]

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Dec 20, 2012 4:45PM

Chicago prep phenom Jabari Parker is set to announce where he will play basketball next season. The Simeon senior and top ranked high school hoops prospect will hold a press conference in the school's gym at 3 p.m. to declare which college he intends to enroll next fall.

With every hoops coach in America vying to sign the six-foot, seven-inch small forward, the final five schools are Brigham Young, Duke, Florida, Michigan State and Stanford. Early on, some thought Parker might pick BYU because of his Mormon faith. But it's Duke and Michigan State that appear to have pulled ahead as front runners, if comments his father made last week were true. However the Parker family later backpedaled from that statement.

Notably absent from his list are any schools in the Land of Lincoln. He eliminated Illinois from contention over the summer, when he tweeted his list of finalists, which was a punch in the gut to the state's highest profile program. While DePaul made the earlier cut, they are no longer under consideration. Northwestern never appeared to be in the running, despite playing in the Big Ten. Other teams who appear to be eliminated from his earlier list are Kentucky, Kansas, Georgetown, and North Carolina.

If the decision is really between Michigan State and Duke, it's anybody's guess to which school Parker will select. Tom Izzo is a tenacious recruiter and Michigan State's proximity to Chicago is a factor in the school's favor. However, it is hard for any high school basketball player to turn down Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, whose team is currently ranked number one in the nation. A Chicago native, Coach K has landed every area recruit he's coveted in recent years, including Jon Scheyer, Sean Dockery, Michael Thompson and Corey Maggette. Other top Chicago players, like Simeon alum Derrick Rose, didn't even get offers to play for the Blue Devils.

We believe Parker's style and personality better fits the Blue Devils program, and his high school GPA suggests academics could be of some consideration. But family is also important, and the senior Parker does not like to fly. That makes East Landing attractive, too.

We'll update this post this afternoon, when Parker makes his announcement.

UPDATE: Jabari Parker announced he'll be attending Duke, playing for Coach K and the Blue Devils.