Jabari Parker To Duke!!

[wilson]

Maybe when he starts playing better, the Suns will give him the last letter of his first and last name back.

It is that bad? They told him to get the "L" out of there?

you have to EARN those Ls

Don't you know it's Christmas time?
Noel.

[Billy Dat]

I don't know who was saying that about Tony Parker, but that thought never occurred to me. I thought that TP would be nice to bridge the gap to life w/o Mason, but never expected him to make a significant impact as a freshman at Duke. How many freshmen who were not top 20 recruits have made a substantial impact for us? Scheyer's the only one I can think of who was decent, but he wasn't even that great nor was that team.

Parker was the #1 recruit and projected #1 draft pick prior to Wiggins re-classifying, he could easily have a Durant/Beasley/Melo level impact and likely will be at least as good as Luol Deng was. He's worth exponentially more to us as a freshman that a recruit on TP's level.

I guess I am arguing against hyperbole on message boards, which is kind of like arguing against putting make-up on toddler beauty pageant contestants. If one (me) enters the octagon, don't expect subtlety. Fair enough.

It just seems that the impact that recruits have in their freshman year is so random, at Duke or elsewhere. Obviously, Kentucky's recent run seems to prove otherwise, but last year's class will likely prove to be a historical outlier. Still, though, I don't want to rain on the enthusiasm of the recruiting chatter. Come on down, Jabari!

[dcar1985]

Originally Posted by Billy Dat
Two things:

-Preseason practice is preseason practice, but during the one practice they televised from the army base, Rodney Hood looked like a man among boys, like the best player on the court. I think he's going to be very good.

-To quote you, "I'd qualify our team next year w/o Parker as a run of the mill 2 seed that could be fun to root for." Change Jabari for Tony and the same exact sentences were being spoken last year. Yet, here we are, #2 in the country.

Obviously we want Parker, but recent history has to demonstrate that getting or losing a top recruit doesn't guarantee success or failure.



Actually, the relative talent of Tony and Jabari does not matter to this point. The point is that a year ago a prevailing sentiment was that this year's team would be good but not great without an additional "prized" recruit. Many said we would not take a significant step forward without better incoming talent. Nevertheless, we did not get Tony but our team has improved and we have every reason to be considered among the very best of the title contenders.

Very fair to make a comparison to the current debate about Jabari. Yes, we would be better with him. That does not mean that without him we will not be great. In truth, IMHO, the concern with next year's team is in the post, which will likely not be dramatically affected by Jabari unless he can do a Battier impression (otherworldly versatile, capable of defending 5s despite limited size) as a frosh.

To me the people saying that were crazy, I may not have said it publicly but definitely thought it. Tony would've been the worse player on this current team IMO fighting for minutes w/ Todd and I felt that way before he ever stepped foot on UCLA's campus...

I for one think we are going to be really good next year which makes getting Jabari that much more important, he would legit make us a great(er) team

All teams have concerns...why this means people shouldn't be excited about possibly getting Parker confuses me...would you really rather pickup a fringe top 100 guy or juco big man rather than have the #1 player in the country in your squad and let K figure things out?

[supbros]

I guess I am arguing against hyperbole on message boards, which is kind of like arguing against putting make-up on toddler beauty pageant contestants. If one (me) enters the octagon, don't expect subtlety. Fair enough.

It just seems that the impact that recruits have in their freshman year is so random, at Duke or elsewhere. Obviously, Kentucky's recent run seems to prove otherwise, but last year's class will likely prove to be a historical outlier. Still, though, I don't want to rain on the enthusiasm of the recruiting chatter. Come on down, Jabari!

Oh yeah, completely agree that freshmen are incredibly difficult to predict.

But there's a HUGE difference between the top 1 or 2 and the ~25th best recruit every year. Kyrie, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Antony, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley- any of these guys would project to be the best player on our team next season by a comfortable margin if we were able to acquire their freshman seasons. Jabari Parker has that level of hype and could be in contention for NPOY. Or maybe he's "only" as good as a Luol Deng or Harrison Barnes, in which case he's still good and makes a positive impact on the team. Either way we want him.

Last year recruits 21-29 according to RSCI were: Rakeem Christmas, Nick Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Chane Behanan, Michael Carter-Williams, Wayne Blackshear, Rodney Hood, Michael Gbinije, Levi Randolph. None of them really had a particularly great impact, although a few were decent. HUGE difference between guys on those level and the super studs like Jabari.

[rsvman]

I don't see why you'd use people who were completely wrong and underrated our current players as a flash point for predicting next year.

It's safe to disregard any predictions from anybody who thought TP would be an impact player for Duke as a freshman had he committed.

Well, I think it's safe to disregard any predictions from somebody who thinks Tyler Thornton "just isn't very good" at basketball.



(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

[Kedsy]

I for one think we are going to be really good next year which makes getting Jabari that much more important, he would legit make us a great(er) team

All teams have concerns...why this means people shouldn't be excited about possibly getting Parker confuses me...would you really rather pickup a fringe top 100 guy or juco big man rather than have the #1 player in the country in your squad and let K figure things out?

I don't think anybody's arguing we'd be better without Jabari than with him. But based on some of the posts we've seen lately, I'd say if we don't get him there'll be a lot of hand-wringing about recruiting misses and that the sky has fallen and our 2013-14 team has little chance to succeed, blah, blah, blah.

I think right now some level-headed people are looking ahead and preemptively arguing against that mindset.

[sporthenry]

As people mention, freshman are hard to predict even for the top prospects. Muhammad came in as the #1 overall prospect and has seen the #59 rated recruit in Jordan Adams outshine him. NC State has seen TJ Warren been their best freshman even though Purvis came in with most of the hype. Glenn Robinson III was the was one spot ahead of Parker and 2 spots behind Amile and he has stepped right into Michigan to be an integral part of a national contender.

And the area that Tony Parker was rated is about the area where we see the biggest jump from Freshman to Sophomore year. Players in the 20-30 range last year include Quinn Cook, Michael Carter-Williams, Otto Porter, Ben McLemore, Jahii Carson, BJ Young, etc. Although I guess the case could be made that Young and Porter didn't really wait for their Sophomore year to take off and Carson/McLemore were red-shirted but plenty of recruits in that range take off. Heck, I'd probably prefer most of those guys over JMM and at least PJ Hairston who were 6 and 11 respectively.

And the other thing is, as people have mentioned, the opportunity cost that Tony Parker not attending Duke created. Duke enters next year with 1 center who has yet to play a college game. Hopefully he can get back and gain some valuable experience but still, Duke needs at least someone to back Marshall up. Yes, K will be smart if need be and allow Amile or probably Josh to play C at times but just imagine a tournament game comes down to who fouls out first like Okafor v. Shelden Williams and we have to rely on Josh Hairston to cover [Insert Big Man Name Here] as the game winds down. I'd love Jabari to commit to Duke and I think he'll be very good but comparing him to Tony Parker isn't simply apples to apples and I think some here are criminally underrating Hood. Like Cook or Parker, he falls in that 20-30 range and I'm sure he'll be one of our better players next year.

[supbros]

Well, I think it's safe to disregard any predictions from somebody who thinks Tyler Thornton "just isn't very good" at basketball.



(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

The fact that I'd rather make an objective bottom line assessment of a player rather than get caught up in an emotional narrative is what enables me to make reasonably accurate sports predictions. Just because I've said something that you prefer to not hear doesn't mean that it's either untrue or that I'm unqualified to accurately assess players or team units.

[rsvman]

The fact that I'd rather make an objective bottom line assessment of a player rather than get caught up in an emotional narrative is what enables me to make reasonably accurate sports predictions. Just because I've said something that you prefer to not hear doesn't mean that it's either untrue or that I'm unqualified to accurately assess players or team units.

And what, exactly, are your qualifications?

[devildeac]

There were negotiations with Peter Jackson to handle the project, but he backed out because he realized it would be longer than his LOTR and Hobbit trilogies combined

That would be one less review Jason Evans would have to post.

[johnb]

The fact that I'd rather make an objective bottom line assessment of a player rather than get caught up in an emotional narrative is what enables me to make reasonably accurate sports predictions. Just because I've said something that you prefer to not hear doesn't mean that it's either untrue or that I'm unqualified to accurately assess players or team units.

Let a smile be your umbrella.

[dcar1985]

I don't think anybody's arguing we'd be better without Jabari than with him. But based on some of the posts we've seen lately, I'd say if we don't get him there'll be a lot of hand-wringing about recruiting misses and that the sky has fallen and our 2013-14 team has little chance to succeed, blah, blah, blah.

I think right now some level-headed people are looking ahead and preemptively arguing against that mindset.

You kind of are if your trying to say "it doesn't really matter if we land Parker b/c of what we already have." Parker helps this team next year big time regardless of position, and I think there should be legit excitement about the idea of the #1 player in the country being on your squad, that's all.

Like I said in an above post people who think that world ends when we miss on a recruit whether it be Tony Parker or Jabari Parker are crazy.

[oldnavy]

I don't think anybody's arguing we'd be better without Jabari than with him. But based on some of the posts we've seen lately, I'd say if we don't get him there'll be a lot of hand-wringing about recruiting misses and that the sky has fallen and our 2013-14 team has little chance to succeed, blah, blah, blah.

I think right now some level-headed people are looking ahead and preemptively arguing against that mindset.

Anybody besides me wonder how much of an impact (negative) Howland is having on TP? In other words, if TP had come to Duke would he have been better at this point than he is now?

I think the answer is obvious. Would he be getting tons of minutes? Doubtful, but I have to believe his development at Duke would be better than at what seems to be a very dysfunctional UCLA program.

In other, other words, maybe TP isn't the problem so much...

[Kedsy]

Anybody besides me wonder how much of an impact (negative) Howland is having on TP? In other words, if TP had come to Duke would he have been better at this point than he is now?

I think the answer is obvious. Would he be getting tons of minutes? Doubtful, but I have to believe his development at Duke would be better than at what seems to be a very dysfunctional UCLA program.

In other, other words, maybe TP isn't the problem so much...

I don't know. I've heard him described as a less athletic version of former-UCLA player Josh Smith, and that sort of player might or might not be able to develop properly at Duke. It would depend on his attitude, which is difficult to judge at a distance.

[Billy Dat]

Anybody besides me wonder how much of an impact (negative) Howland is having on TP? In other words, if TP had come to Duke would he have been better at this point than he is now?

I think the answer is obvious. Would he be getting tons of minutes? Doubtful, but I have to believe his development at Duke would be better than at what seems to be a very dysfunctional UCLA program.

In other, other words, maybe TP isn't the problem so much...

I saw a funny tweet recently, can't remember who, that poked Howland. It went something like, "Ben Howland couldn't win an NCAA title with K.Love, Westbrook, D.Collison and Mbah a Moute. Phil Jackson could win an NBA title with that talent"

[oldnavy]

I don't know. I've heard him described as a less athletic version of former-UCLA player Josh Smith, and that sort of player might or might not be able to develop properly at Duke. It would depend on his attitude, which is difficult to judge at a distance.

Yea, you are probably right, I just got to thinking that UCLA right now might not be the best place for someone to bloom. Between having all the UNC misfits, you have Howland who according the to SI report is totally out of the loop, if you believe it.

[OldPhiKap]

Yea, you are probably right, I just got to thinking that UCLA right now might not be the best place for someone to bloom. Between having all the UNC misfits, you have Howland who according the to SI report is totally out of the loop, if you believe it.

"The Island of Misfit Tarheels"

Should have a claymation Matt Doherty or something. The Abominable Ballcoach?

[Turtleboy]

Of course not but the fact that Cliff Alexander said it whos from Chicago and being recruited by MSU and is friends with Parker isnt something to totally disregard..

Oh no, I was serious. Around here twitter is a legitimate news source.

[Greg_Newton]

Jabari is playing Duke commit Matt Jones on ESPN right now.

[moonpie23]

many traveling charges....4 on jabari already....refs sending a message...