Jabari Parker, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2013 out of Chicago Simeon, plans to cut his list to five schools in September and hopefully make a decision by November.
“Hopefully in September, that’s the target date,” Sonny Parker, Jabari’s father, told SNY.tv Saturday morning.
“Then he’s going to take his visits and his trips and hopefully make his decision in the fall. If he’s not really feeling it feeling it, then wait until the spring.”
The 6-foot-8 Parker has trimmed his list to 10 schools: BYU, DePaul, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina and Stanford.
“He has no No. 1 or No. 2, he doesn’t really have a favorite,” Sonny said.
“I told him, ‘You have to make a decision.’ He likes pretty much all those programs. I don’t know if anyone has an advantage or disadvantage. It’s just going to come down to him being comfortable in their system where he can grow and develop and get better. He likes all the programs in his top 10 choices.”
Still, the widespread perception is that Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and potentially DePaul could make the top five.
“Coach K and Coach [Tom] Izzo have been to a lot of his games and practices, those two,” Sonny said of the Duke and MSU coaches.
Asked about Kentucky and Kansas, Sonny added: “Yeah, I think so. Coach [John] Calipari and Coach [Bill] Self, he likes all the coaches.”
DePaul is the local school and could remain on the list as well.
“Them being here and it’s local,” Sonny said. “He’s close to Billy Garrett Sr. It’s hard for me to say. They all have a chance in the Top 10.”
Meantime, Parker has been shut down since winning a gold medal at the U17 World Championships in Lithuania with a fractured right foot.
“It’s doing well,” Sonny said. “He’s staying off of it which is good. He has the boot. The doctor said stay off of it. He goes to the bathroom with his crutches. He’s not putting any pressure on it.”
The season for Chicago Simeon doesn’t begin until December so Parker has time to recover.
“He’s young enough and he doesn’t have to have surgery,” Sonny said. “If he stays off of it, in a month or two he’ll be back.”
