Jabari Parker, the No. 1 high school basketball recruit in the country, was in Provo last week on an unofficial visit to BYU, but the phone call coach Dave Rose received Sunday night was from a different prospect saying he would like to be a Cougar.
Luke Worthington, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward from Homestead High in Mequon, Wis., committed to Rose and has said he will sign a national letter of intent in November to play for BYU.
Worthington had offers from more than a half-dozen schools, but narrowed his list this summer to BYU, Davidson, Penn and Princeton. In recent days, the battle was between BYU and Davidson for his services.
"It just came down to academics, basketball, coaching style and fit," Worthington’s father, John, told Evan Flood of NY2LASPORTS.com. "It felt like BYU made the most sense."
Worthington played for the AAU team Playground Elite in the recent summer all-star club circuit.
Worthington is the fifth member of the class of 2013 to commit to BYU, which ESPN.com last month rated as the sixth-best recruiting class in the country based on the four earlier commitments.
That list includes 6-foot-7 forward Jakob Hartsock of Bartlesville, Okla., 6-8 center Eric Mika of Lone Peak High, 6-8 forward Braiden Shaw of Eagle, Idaho, and 6-2 guard Nick Emery of Lone Peak
A pair of high school juniors, Orem’s 6-7 Dalton Nixon and Lone Peak’s 6-3 T.J. Haws, have also committed to BYU and will sign next fall.
Not all of the Cougars’ five commits will play for the team in 2013-14 because several are expected to leave on LDS Church missions next summer. However, Worthington has said he plans on enrolling in 2013 and playing four consecutive seasons.
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