Colleges will wait for Jabari Parker to make up his mind about where he wants to go to school, and the No. 1-ranked high school basketball player in the country just might make them wait.
In fact, the Chicago Simeon Career Academy forward could wait to commit until the spring if he can’t decide on a school by the early signing period, his father said Thursday.
Parker, a 6-foot-8 forward, and his family have stated previously they hoped for him to commit and sign in the early signing period, which is from Nov. 14-21. Parker recently released a list of 10 colleges he was considering to attend: BYU, DePaul, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina and Stanford.
“We aren’t in a hurry,” said Parker’s father Sonny Parker on Thursday. “He can pretty much go anywhere he wants to go and can take his time. We’re in a good position to take his time and get it right the first time. We’d like to get it over with, but there’s no rush. Like I told him, if you aren’t ready, do it in the spring. If they want you bad enough, they’ll wait. He’s the No. 1 player.”
Sonny Parker said he expects his son to trim his list further before making any visits, but he was unsure when that would happen. He also said he’s been hearing consistently from all the coaches on Parker’s list, but the coaches are still unable to contact Parker directly.
Parker has been resting since mid-July after discovering he had a fracture in his right foot. Surgery wasn’t required, and he’s been wearing a protective boot.
Parker is expected to return to the court in six to eight weeks, but could rest up to 10 weeks, according to Simeon coach Robert Smith. Simeon will be shooting for its fourth consecutive Illinois state championship this season.
“We’ll make sure everything is correct,” Smith said.
As a junior, Parker was named the ESPNChicago.com Player of the Year, Illinois’ Mr. Basketball and the national Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 19.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per contest.
