Jabari Parker, the first pick of the 2014 NBA Draft?

[Clutch]

Since the Rockets clearly missed the boat on Anthony Davis and they don't look to be planning to be to be in the hunt for Nerlens Noel/Shabazz Muhammad/Cody Zeller in 2013 either, maybe 2014 is something to consider.

Jabari Parker looks like he has the potential to be a special player. He's a 6-foot-8 forward who can do it all -- said to be a very good and willing passer. Looks like he needs to add strength but appears to be very skilled. He just finished his junior year of high school at Simeon in Chicago, where Derrick Rose starred. They've won state titles in each of his three seasons. Sports Illustrated last month put him on the cover and called him the best high school basketball player since LeBron James.


Story: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...8498/index.htm



Also rare in that he appears to be a very grounded, humble and religious kid. He recently was interviewed by Katie Couric on Good Morning America.

[Carl Herrera]

NBA wil make sure he ends up in Utah.

[ObamaFan]

A Black Mormon

Hey BYU might actually have a chance to land this kid

[123Rockets]

He looks good. I also would look at 2015 for Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins and Parker look to be special, I'll give the slight nod to Wiggins though because he has Lebron type athleticism when he was in high school.

[Carl Herrera]

Originally Posted by 123Rockets He looks good. I also would look at 2015 for Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins and Parker look to be special, I'll give the slight nod to Wiggins though because he has Lebron type athleticism when he was in high school.

Also son of Rockets player.

[ObamaFan]

http://nbadraft.net/players/jabari-parker


Jabari Parker


NBA Comparison: Carmelo Anthony


Strengths: Ultra-skilled forward with an innate, natural ability to play basketball ... Remarkably advanced basketball IQ for a player his age ... Already possesses many of the intangible qualities that NBA teams covet ... Strong competitor that plays hard on both ends of the floor. Rarely fails to "show up" for games ... Moves around the court well with or without the ball ... Good overall shot-selection ... Hard worker, who appears to respect the game ... Has good size for a small forward (measured recently at 6'8.5" in shoes), and still has some time to grow ... Appears to have a wingspan of 7'0" or close to it ... He makes up for his lack of elite athleticism by being an aggressive athlete that takes advantage of any opportunities the defense gives to him ... Has shown the ability to rise up and emphatically dunk over the top of the defense ... Footspeed is fairly average, but he’s still a very fluid runner, particularly in the open court ... Knows how to take advantage of "sleeping" defenders, showing great activity off the ball with an understanding of back-cuts and spotting-up from the corner ... Is a pure shooter that displays a soft touch out to the NBA three-point line ... Has the size, touch and footwork to become a very capable player in the post, which would make him a big-time mismatch threat from the wing position ... Capable in the mid-range with a rapidly improving pull-up jumper that is already extremely difficult to defend ... Dangerous when taking players off the dribble ... Uses hesitations, fakes and crossovers to throw his defender off balance ... Combines a refined offensive awareness with an unselfish nature to always find his teammates when they are open ... Solid defender that works hard to bother his man ... Has the length and instincts to make an impact on the glass as well ... High-character player and a member of the LDS church ... Still very young and has a lot of room to improve ... Likely the top high school player in the country and has superstar potential ...


Weaknesses: While Parker is a good all-around athlete, he won't be much of a stand-out as far as the NBA is concerned ... His first-step lacks the explosion of some of the other elite-level prospects he's often compared to, and he won't be labeled by many as a "high flyer" either ... If he works hard on his strength and conditioning, he should be able to maximize his potential athletically as he grows into his height, but even for a player with a reputation like Parker, this is still an “if” ... Parker's outside shot can be inconsistent, though at only 16 years of age, this is a common issue, and can be rectified with practice and experience ... He's drawn comparisons to players like Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony, and those kinds of expectations can weigh heavily on younger players ...


Overall: Jabari Parker is an extremely intriguing NBA prospect ... He displays a rare versatility and polish for a player as young as he is along with the potential to get a lot better with time ... While it is awfully early to start making predictions on the 2014 draft, Parker (if eligible) is my favorite for the first overall pick ...

[ObamaFan]

From the video below he does play a LOT like Melo, but i dont know if thats a good thing or bad thing.

The guy who mentioned Andrew Wiggins is 100% right, that kid is like LeBron James. I saw him outplay Shabazz Muhammad for about a 15 minute strectch their

[cod]

So whoever drafts him might have to wait 2 years or he could undertake his Mormon mission during his NBA career?

[Clutch]

Originally Posted by Carl Herrera NBA wil make sure he ends up in Utah.

If he's the #1 pick, no amount of help is going to get him in Utah. If he's a 3-5 pick, I could see the Jazz pushing very hard to get him.

Originally Posted by 123Rockets He looks good. I also would look at 2015 for Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins and Parker look to be special, I'll give the slight nod to Wiggins though because he has Lebron type athleticism when he was in high school.

Wow, interesting -- I remember reading about Mitchell Wiggins's son, but I just went and watched some more recent highlights of his. Hard to believe that's a high school sophomore. Someone should start a thread tracking that kid too.

[123Rockets]

Originally Posted by ObamaFan From the video below he does play a LOT like Melo, but i dont know if thats a good thing or bad thing. The guy who mentioned Andrew Wiggins is 100% right, that kid is like LeBron James. I saw him outplay Shabazz Muhammad for about a 15 minute strectch their

He's got a better shot than Lebron. He outplayed Shabazz in the Nike Hoop Summit and I think Shabazz is 2 years older.

[A_3PO]

I expect Jabari Parker to live up to the hype and have a great NBA career. Wouldn't surprise me if he's NCAA Player of the Year his one season. He's on a different plane than Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammed.

[Spacemoth]

Originally Posted by Clutch If he's the #1 pick, no amount of help is going to get him in Utah. If he's a 3-5 pick, I could see the Jazz pushing very hard to get him. Wow, interesting -- I remember reading about Mitchell Wiggins's son, but I just went and watched some more recent highlights of his. Hard to believe that's a high school sophomore. Someone should start a thread tracking that kid too.

What, you haven't heard of teams slotted between 5-10 in the lotto winning it? If Utah is anywhere in the lotto, I think their chances of winning will be 50%. But just like with Jimmer, it would please me to no end to see someone mortgage their entire team just to trade to the pick ahead of Utah to punk them.

[123Rockets]

Who do you guys think will be the worst team in the NBA by the time 2014(for Parker) or 2015(for Wiggins; who I'd rather have)??? I hope it's us. Wiggins is said to be equal or better than Lebron. And, he doesn't have that attitude that people can hate

[Canadiandude]

Originally Posted by cod So whoever drafts him might have to wait 2 years or he could undertake his Mormon mission during his NBA career?

I don't see this as a bad thing for a team in a serious *rebuilding* mode.

Wouldn't mind seeing the Rockets pulling off a San Antonio Spurs when they drafted David Robinson, who went on to honor his Naval obligations, and then picked up Willie Anderson and Sean Elliot in the process.

[megatruong]

Originally Posted by 123Rockets He looks good. I also would look at 2015 for Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins and Parker look to be special, I'll give the slight nod to Wiggins though because he has Lebron type athleticism when he was in high school.

Anyone else read Ender's Game? The main character's name is Andrew Wiggin, without the "s" and his nickname is Ender. They should nickname this guy Ender.

[dobro1229]

Kind of like Austin Rivers and Harrison Barnes. Everyone is the next this guy or that guy. Still he looks like a very talented kid. There will almost always be a top guy as the consensus #1 pick almost every year that is worth suffering a bad season to get if you know for a fact that your going to be the team that gets him. If the Rockets were going to lose games on purpose to get a young prospect they probably would have already done it by now.

[Commodore]

jeez how young are we scouting kids these days...

[Carl Herrera]

Nothing against the Mormons, but the last to Mormon players selected in the lottery (that I can recall) were Jimmer Fredette and Shawn Bradley.

The LDS Church really needs to step up its NBA readiness program.

[Air Langhi]

It doesn't look like has the blow it past defender quickness that lebron has. I thought greg oden was considered the best high schooler since lebron.

[Air Langhi]

I googled Andrew Wiggins and not only is his dad an NBA player his mom is an Olympics medalist. That is some strong genetics. The rockets should just sign the future rights of Aaron Ross's kid.