Jabari Parker picks Duke

[honkytonk]

No surprise. Izzo will be contending for another title next year.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121220/GW0201/312200046/Jabari-Parker-picks-Michigan-State?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|FRONTPAGE

Rocky's edit - fixed headline to avoid confusion

[Pakuni]

No surprise. Izzo will be contending for another title next year.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121220/GW0201/312200046/Jabari-Parker-picks-Michigan-State?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|FRONTPAGE

Link doesn't work and Parker hasn't announced yet.

[Bocephys]

Maybe someone over there got a little antsy in their pantsy and posted the story early.  I'm thought Jabari was announcing on ESPNU at 3 CST

[Pakuni]

Maybe someone over there got a little antsy in their pantsy and posted the story early.  I'm thought Jabari was announcing on ESPNU at 3 CST

FWIW, the Chicago Sun-Times says Parker is leaning toward Florida, but his parents are making a push for Duke.

[honkytonk]

Link doesn't work and Parker hasn't announced yet.

The link doesnt work because the story was taken down.

This was the text:

CHICAGO — Michigan State has its Jabari Parker.

And Tom Izzo may have the right mix of players to make a serious run at the 2013-14 national championship.

Parker, a 6-8 senior forward at Chicago Simeon High and consensus top-3 recruit according to analysts, announced his verbal commitment to MSU today in his high school gymnasium, with ESPNU on hand to televise.

The announcement capped a three-year recruitment of Parker for Tom Izzo – a recruitment led by associate head coach Dwayne Stephens – and ended an intense week of speculation and rumors after Parker set a decision date.

Parker picked MSU over Duke, Florida, BYU and Stanford. Most analysts believed Duke would win out in the end, but Parker opted for the closest school to his home and perhaps the closest personal relationship he built with a coach in Izzo.

He can't sign a binding letter of intent until the spring but his commitment is expected to be final.

This marks one of the biggest recruiting victories of Izzo's tenure, in a recruitment MSU was thought to lead before Parker took his official visits in the fall.

Izzo can't comment publicly on unsigned recruits, but he said earlier in the day after an MSU practice that he would likely be in Flint this afternoon, visiting Herbert Cleaves, the father of former MSU great Mateen Cleaves. Herbert Cleaves is recovering from major surgery, Izzo said.

Izzo also made the point that his program is not in a position where one recruit can make or break it – as it was back when Cleaves signed in 1996.

Parker, though, could be the final piece for a national title contender in 2013-14. ESPN analyst Dave Telep said the MSU roster next season reminds him of the 2002-03 Syracuse team, which won it all behind freshman Carmelo Anthony.

MSU has not signed anyone else for the class of 2013 but is in on several high-profile recruits for 2014.

Free Press Sports Writer Mark Snyder contributed to this report.
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[JTBMU7]

it was an accident. they had both stories cued up and hit the wrong button.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Kid is incredibly overrated.

[Pakuni]

Kid is incredibly overrated.

Not just overrated, but incredibly overrated?
I dunno. Coach K, Izzo and Billy Donovan seem to think he's OK.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Not saying he isn't worthy of the offers he's got, just don't think he's the next coming of Melo. Strikes me as too slow to be the kind of player people seem to believe he is.

[Goose]

I hope we land overrated players like Parker in the future. We counted on Jake Thomas last night to save the night against UWGB...give me a break on Parker being overrated.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Unless this kid turns out to be LeBron or Carmelo, then he is currently overrated. Easier to fall from the top than to stay there. I'd take Looney over him in a heartbeat.

[StillWarriors]

Not saying he isn't worthy of the offers he's got, just don't think he's the next coming of Melo. Strikes me as too slow to be the kind of player people seem to believe he is.

Just curious; had you seen him play before the ESPN game last week? He's a shell of himself right now coming off the foot injury. I have a hard time believing anyone who has seen him play when healthy wouldn't think he is going to be something special. Seems to have his head on straight too.

[Pakuni]

Duke.

[Pakuni]

Unless this kid turns out to be LeBron or Carmelo, then he is currently overrated. Easier to fall from the top than to stay there. I'd take Looney over him in a heartbeat.

So unless he becomes one of the five best basketball players in the world, he's overrated as a high school senior.
Seems fair.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

I saw him in person in the state playoffs last spring against Whitney Young. He got his eventually, but shot the ball 85% of the time he touched it. Obviously Duke is lucky to have him, but I think the hype is a overboard at this point. His being Mormon gives basketball writers a lot to run with.

[jesmu84]

Unless this kid turns out to be LeBron or Carmelo, then he is currently overrated. Easier to fall from the top than to stay there. I'd take Looney over him in a heartbeat.

every #1 recruit has to be as good as Lebron or Carmelo or they are overrated? ridiculous logic

[WarriorInNYC]

Unless this kid turns out to be LeBron or Carmelo, then he is currently overrated. Easier to fall from the top than to stay there. I'd take Looney over him in a heartbeat.

You do realize as well that he is not the number 1 recruit in his class.  Saying he has to turn into LeBron to match expectations is quite extreme.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

So unless he becomes one of the five best basketball players in the world, he's overrated as a high school senior.
Seems fair.

When that is the bar analysts and media have set, it's true. It's not a question of my view of what's fair to the kid; I think he's got a rough road ahead of him given the hype.

[Goose]

Judging by some of the posts on this thread we are moving to the right conference for our fan base.

[LAZER]

Unless this kid turns out to be LeBron or Carmelo, then he is currently overrated. Easier to fall from the top than to stay there. I'd take Looney over him in a heartbeat.

How much have you watched these guys play?  From the sounds of every recruiting expert they seem to think Jabari Parker is pretty damn good, you don't really hear that much about Looney outside of Milwaukee.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

You do realize as well that he is not the number 1 recruit in his class.  Saying he has to turn into LeBron to match expectations is quite extreme.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1198498/index.htm

[WarriorInNYC]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1198498/index.htm

ESPN #2
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/order/true
Rivals #3
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/rankings/rank-2752

[Goose]

Lazer


Everyone knows about Looney and he will be recruited by similar schools as Parker. Would love to see the praise Parker would have received if he had picked MU.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

ESPN #2
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/order/true
Rivals #3
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/rankings/rank-2752

I'm well aware Wiggins is ranked higher (but thanks for the links). I was referencing your claim that he didn't have to live up to LeBron's reputation in order to match expectations.

[RJax55]

Judging by some of the posts on this thread we are moving to the right conference for our fan base.

What? How does one guy's opinion of Parker relate to our conference switch?