BYU basketball: Mormon hoops recruit Jabari Parker narrows list to five schools; BYU still in running

By Jeff Call, Deseret News

Published: Friday, Oct. 5 2012 2:08 p.m. MDT

Jabari Parker, arguably the No. 1 high school basketball player in the Class of 2013, is seen with Katie Couric, special correspondent of ABC's "Good Morning America."

Jeff Benedict

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Summary

Prep basketball superstar Jabari Parker reportedly has narrowed down his list of potential college destinations to five — and BYU is on that list.

Reggie Rankin, a scout and analyst for ESPN Recruiting, tweeted Friday afternoon: "Just spoke with ESPN #1 player Jabari Parker. List cut to 5. No order Stanford, BYU, Duke, Mich St, Florida."

Parker, who is a member of the LDS Church, is widely considered to be one of the top high school players in the country. Last spring, Parker graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, which proclaimed him "the best high school basketball player since LeBron James."

Parker's high school coach, Robert Smith, insists that BYU's inclusion on Parker's short list is not just a token gesture.

"All five schools are schools he's really interested in and really thinking about attending," Smith told ESPN's Scott Powers. "He's really thinking about BYU. I know his faith has a lot to do with it. The coaching staff has been great with him. They've been a winning program. That's one of his choices."

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TheSportsAuthority

Arlington, VA

Jabari's parents and coach both confirmed that BYU isn't on his final 5 list simply as a nod to his church school; Jabari is seriously considering BYU because of the excellence of the school and BYU's basketball program.

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4:38 p.m. Oct. 5, 2012
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Hemlock

Salt Lake City, UT

For secularists, U-tah is right. For those who are faith-based, religion is part of life. Who knows, if Parker scores very low on his ACT the utes may have a shot at him.