Thursday, December 20, 2012
How Coach K will use versatile Parker
By Reggie Rankin
Jabari Parker (Chicago/Simeon), the No. 2 player in the Class of 2013, has selected Duke over Michigan State, Stanford, BYU and Florida.
Parker adds sizzle to Duke's 2013 class, which includes elite 3-point shooter Matt Jones (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto) and powerful scoring winger Semi Ojeleye (Ottawa, Kan./Ottawa).
Parker is an outstanding small forward who brings a high basketball IQ and versatility to Coach K’s lineup. He can score in the post with his back to the basket or faceup with range out to the 3-point line. He is an excellent passer and rebounder who can ignite the break with his dribble and go coast-to-coast or drop off a pin-point pass to a teammate running the floor. Parker is capable of defending either forward spot using his length and understanding of angles to frustrate opponents.
The future is extremely bright for the Blue Devils because Parker brings off-the-charts talent and his character and maturity are as advanced as his game.
Coach K will take full advantage of Parker's versatility in the motion-style pick-and-roll and pop offense by allowing Parker to post smaller defenders or straight-line drive by less-mobile forwards. He is certain to be a matchup problem and scouting report headache for opposing ACC coaches.
