This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jabari Parker, the 6-foot-8 prep basketball phenom from Chicago, is in the news again. This time, the Associated Press has produced an article about Parker, an article that has been picked up by dozens of newspapers and news outlets around the country. Parker is BYU coach Dave Rose's prime recruiting target from the class of 2013, but the Cougars are still considered a longshot, seeing as how Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Illinois, Washington and other higher-profile programs are also on his list. Ben Roberts of the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader reported last week on Twitter that BYU was on a list of about eight schools that Parker submitted to ESPN as schools that he is still considering. A new recruiting report put out by Scout.com has Michigan State and Duke as the favorites to get Parker. I spoke to a person with very close ties to the BYU basketball program a few days ago, and was told that BYU coaches "will stay in there until [Parker] decides that BYU is not an option" for him. The source stressed that Parker's family has said nothing to BYU coaches that would suggest he is giving them lip service only because he is a member of the LDS Church and isn't seriously considering a commitment to the WCC school, a commitment that would absolutely stun the college basketball world if it happens. "Absolutely, yeah," the source said, when asked if Parker is still receptive to BYU's recruitment. "He has been, yeah. What a great kid." In case you missed the news last week, Parker was named the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.————————— Looks like BYU's football media day will be held in the middle of July. Here's a short video making the rounds about BYU football that features some inspirational encouragement from former Cougar QB Steve Young.