Jabari Parker, top recruit since LeBron James, isn’t allowed to answer coaches’ calls

[rug]

Chicago Simeon superstar Jabari Parker — Rivals.com/USPresswire

By Cameron Smith | Prep Rally – 20 hours ago

Jabari Parker has made his name on the basketball circuit beyond the prep level because of all the ways he's different than most high school prospects. Most national players of the year spend three years building toward their senior enthronement. Not Parker, who has been considered the best player in the nation for two consecutive years, and still has a senior campaign to come.

Many top prospects spend more time around sneaker marketers than in any church, temple or mosque. Not Parker, a devout Mormon who faces a difficult decision between a future in college and professional basketball and a more traditional Mormon mission trip.

And, as it turns out, Parker's recruiting has been just as far off the traditional path as the rest of his prep career. As noted by ESPN Chicago, while most top-tier prospects spend hours on their cell phones chatting with coaches and assistants, any calls to Parker go directly through his parents, because only his parents can receive calls or texts intended for the recruit. Jabari Parker is explicitly prohibited from giving out his cell phone number to any college coaches or recruiters in an effort to shield him from all the attention that will continue to gather around his college decision, which looms within the next 12 months.

"Everybody doing their job, but they still can't have Jabari's number," Sonny Parker, Jabari's father, told ESPN Chicago. "That ain't changed.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/jabari-parker-top-recruit-since-lebron-james-isn-154124631.html

I wish him luck on his choice.

[cbayer]

1. Interesting kid and I also send him good wishes.

He is still debating about whether to take his missionary year or not. Must be a tough decision for him.