NBA 2014 Draft - Jabari Parker The Most Skilled Player In College Basketball; Is It Enough To Make Him The Top Pick?

The NBA 2014 Draft is one of a kind. In any other year, we would not even have this kind of conversation.

Jabari Parker, hands down is a first overall pick. Watching his first four games, he would be number one in this year's draft. It would be close because Anthony Davis is a center (a rare commodity in the NBA) but Parker would still be number one in the 2013 draft. It would be like 2007, with the Greg Oden or Kevin Durant debate.

Speaking of Kevin Durant, Jabari Parker has been compared to the Oklahoma City forward. He's not as tall as Durant, and he does not have the freakish wingspan, but Parker has a smooth display of skills.

He can shoot the three pointer, drive for a dunk and post up. In one play, he blocked the opponent's shot and took on all five opposing players coast-to-coast on a dunk.

Duke's coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) has placed him at the top of his recruiting list. In 2011, when Parker was a junior in high school, Coach K compared Parker to two players: Grant Hill and Kobe Bryant.

Grant Hill was mentioned by Coach K to be the best player he's ever coached. Kobe didn't play for Duke, as he went straight to the NBA, but he was aggressively recruited by Coach K and Kobe did admit that he was going to Duke if not for Jerry West's effort to draft him.

From an interview by Zagsblog, Parker admits he is flattered:  "He compared me to Kobe Bryant and he compared me to Grant Hill. I'm really good on my footwork. I can play on the post sometimes and I can also be on the perimeter,"

"It makes me feel good, you know, just because [Bryant] is one of the greatest players ever to play basketball. Being there right now, it gives me something to work towards."

Now that Parker is with Duke, Coach K lets the freshman prove his comparisons with his gameplay.

Despite the hype, it is still a question if Parker will be the top pick, simply because this is the best draft in more than a decade. Andrew Wiggins of Kansas and Julius Randle of Kentucky are his tightest rivals.

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nba 2014 draft
jabari parker
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