- Created on 21 December 2012
Simeon's Parker Chooses Duke
(AP) — Jabari Parker still had just about everyone guessing. Then, he pulled out that blue T-shirt with a white "D," and, finally, it became clear.
The prized prospect from Chicago's Simeon Career Academy, one of the most highly touted recruits in years, is headed to Duke to play for Mike Krzyzewski. Parker made the announcement in front of a national TV audience Thursday, in his high school gym, surely delighting Blue Devils fans.
A 6-foot-8 forward with the ability to nail jumpers from just about any spot when he's not throwing down vicious dunks, Parker can't sign his letter of intent until April 17. But he made his intentions clear with one highly anticipated oral commitment.
Michigan State, Florida, Stanford and Brigham Young also made his top five and caps from each school lined a table next to the podium. But he said it really came down to three schools, with the Gators and Spartans right there with the Blue Devils.
In the end, he chose to play for Krzyzewski for at least a year before making what many believe will ultimately be a jump to the NBA.
"Duke is always going to be a team in the tournament," he said. "You can't go wrong at the program and most importantly, the long-term investment. I feel like if I go there, I can get a good degree. I can also stay close to home where it's easily accessible to my parents, my family. It's not too far away. Coach K, that's one of the best coaches ever, and I wanted to be able to experience the things that he has next year."
Parker said he might play two or three seasons in college. Either way, he vowed to get a degree. He also said he didn't decide on a school until about 1 p.m. Central, and he apparently kept his parents in the dark until just before he made his announcement.
His mom Lola said Jabari whispered his decision to her and her husband, Sonny, as they were walking into the gym. A few minutes later, he pulled out that Duke T-shirt, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd packing the bleachers behind the podium.
Parker committed to join a program next season will lose two key frontcourt players — seniors Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly — from a team that earlier this week rose to No. 1 for the first time since February 2011.
Parker figures to fit right in on a talented group of players that will include Quinn Cook, who's expected to be in his second year as the starting point guard, and returns pure shooter Andre Dawkins, who's expected back after redshirting this season.
Turning down the other programs, particularly Michigan State, wasn't easy, particularly after coach Tom Izzo's final pitch Wednesday.
Simeon coach Robert Smith was so impressed he said, "If he was recruiting me yesterday, I would have committed."
Parker didn't. He saw a potential for controversy with him and the Spartans' Branden Dawson playing the same position. Instead, he's headed to Duke even though he said that was his "worst" on-campus visit.
"I didn't do what I wanted to do — that's be a kid," he said. "But I know being at college, it's all business. That's what they wanted to do, to show me. I know I didn't have a good time, but they just wanted to tell me, prepare for me and give me a little bit of a taste of how it's going to be in college."
Lola Parker said she was more interested in Krzyzewski the person than the Krzyzewski the coaching icon. She mentioned his character, his discipline and his final home visit on Tuesday.
"The first time Coach K came in, he stood up and showed Jabari where his foot should be on an offensive or a defensive play," she said. "He showed Jabari where his arms should be. This guy doesn't sit down. We kind of laughed about it, and it was the same thing Tuesday. I moved my coffee table to the side to make sure he had room right there to get up."
Given Jabari Parker's skills, it's easy to see why just about every major program was interested in him.
Parker just might be the greatest prospect to come out of Simeon, and that's saying something considering Derrick Rose played there. All he did was go on to become the MVP with the hometown Bulls.
As for Parker, his credentials to this point sure are impressive.
He received the Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year award after leading Simeon to its third straight state championship while averaging 19.5 points and 8.9 rebounds as a junior.
His father played six seasons with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA after starring at Chicago's Farragut Career Academy.
"He has a gift and he has what's called 'It'," Sonny Parker said.
Religion also plays a big role in Jabari's life. He is a devout Mormon, just like his mom, and he has talked about going on a mission. He's not sure if he will do that, but he did make one thing clear:
He plans to get his degree.
Now that he's made his college choice and assuming he doesn't have a change of heart, Jabari can focus on leading Simeon to another state title and getting his conditioning back after being slowed by a broken right foot.
The injury over the summer caused him to push back some recruiting trips and delay his decision rather than commit during the early signing period last month. He's also missed a game this week because he's trying to work his way back from the injury, an obstacle for a player rarely stopped on the court, but this moment was years in the making.
Lola Parker recalled in an interview at the family's house earlier this year that she could see it when Jabari, the youngest of seven children, was in the second grade going against the fourth and fifth-graders in a league run by Sonny, who established a foundation to help inner-city youth in Chicago after he retired.
Scholarship offers started rolling in when Jabari was in the sixth grade, and now, it's not uncommon for him to get mobbed by fans at games, even though they're often not from Simeon.
Usually, he'll accommodate them, but sometimes, he needs an escape.
He finds one in religion. That means rising several days a week at 5 a.m. for Bible study and heading from the family's brick bungalow on the city's South Side to worship a few miles away, near the University of Chicago.
The day of the interview at the house earlier this year, there was a reminder on Jabari's door to "put the Lord first" along with several sheets of 8-by-10 white paper. One listed the Ten Commandments, the other personal rules such as "don't be quick to judge" and "Think positive things."
For now, big things are happening for Parker. He's headed to a storied program. And then?
"His potential, the sky's the limit," Sonny Parker said.
- Created on 20 December 2012
Simeon's Jabari Parker to Announce College Pick
(AP) — Top high school basketball recruit Jabari Parker of Chicago's Simeon Career Academy is scheduled to unveil his college plans.
A news conference is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Parker's South Side high school. His father has previously said Parker was trying to decide between Michigan State, Duke, Florida, Stanford and Brigham Young.
A 6-foot-8 forward, Parker is one of the most prized recruits to come along in recent years.
- Created on 18 December 2012
DePaul Defeats Northern Illinois 69-64
(AP) — Northern Illinois gave Brandon Young and DePaul fits Sunday before the Blue Demons decided they needed to finally put the Huskies away.
Young scored a team-high 15 points, including two free throws in the final seconds, to help secure a 69-64 non-conference victory.
"We realized at the last second that it's time for us to fight and that's what we did," Young said.
DePaul (8-3) ran its winning streak to six as Jamee Crockett had 14 points and Cleveland Melvin added 12.
Abdel Nader, playing in only his second game since serving a seven-game suspension, scored a game-high 20 points for Northern Illinois (2-7) while Akeem Springs added 11.
DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said his Blue Demons finally caught fire in the last six minutes.
"We call that winning time and clearly our guys did a good job," he said. "We got all the big rebounds, we handled the ball under pressure, we made our free throws and every one of them was critical."
Young hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to play to open a 67-64 lead after Springs put the Huskies back in contention with back-to-back 3-pointers in a 14-second span.
The last came with 16 seconds to play and trimmed DePaul's lead to 65-64.
The game came a day after DePaul and six other Catholic universities announced that they will withdraw from the Big East Conference in 2015 and form their own, yet-to-be-named league.
The Blue Demons padded the edge early in the second half, pulling out to a 40-33 lead on Durrell McDonald's 3-pointer at the 15:09 mark. But the Huskies bounced back as Nader scored six points and guard Mike Davis added a bank shot to force a 49-49 tie with 8:02 remaining.
There were four lead changes and a tie until Crockett's 3-pointer with 4:05 to play gave DePaul the lead for good at 57-56.
Springs prevented DePaul from locking down by hitting two 3-pointers in a 14-second span, but Young's free throws restored the Demons' 67-64 lead with 15.6 seconds showing.
"Our guys came out competing, playing hard," said Huskies coach Mark Montgomery. "We had a chance to win this thing."
The Blue Demons led through much of the opening half but couldn't pull away from the pesky Huskies.
DePaul appeared poised for a run after a Crockett dunk gave the Demons their biggest lead at 22-16, but Northern Illinois replied with six consecutive points, including back-to-back steals and baskets from Davis, that forced a 22-22 tie with 7:32 remaining.
The Huskies grabbed a temporary 24-23 lead on a layup by Aksel Bolin and held a 31-27 lead with 2:01 showing. But a pair of Charles McKinney free throws and two straight Young jumpers in an 8-second span in the final minute gave DePaul a 33-31 halftime lead.
DePaul now holds a 25-6 series lead over Northern Illinois and has beaten the Huskies in three straight meetings.
Young was presented with the Jay Goedert Award as the game's outstanding player. The award was named for the former DePaul and Northern Illinois assistant coach who died in 2004.
Northern Illinois opens a two-game western swing on Wednesday at Seattle University, while DePaul hosts Maryland-Baltimore at 1 p.m. Saturday.
- Created on 19 December 2012
Deng, Boozer Score 21 as Bulls Beat Celtics 100-89
(AP) — After enjoying one of the most complete games of his career, Joakim Noah may have invented a new position for himself.
Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer scored 21 points apiece, Noah had a triple-double and the Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 100-89 on Tuesday night.
Noah had 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career high-tying 10 assists for his second career triple-double.
"I always tell people I'm a point-center anyway," Noah joked after the game. "I always feel like I can pass the ball. I feel more comfortable with the offense and we have a lot of people who can score the ball in different ways."
Nate Robinson scored 18 points for Chicago and keyed a fourth-quarter surge that put the game out of reach, as the Bulls evened a 101-95 home loss to Boston on Nov. 12.
"(Noah) plays the game for the love of it," Robinson said. "If you watch him, he plays with his heart on his sleeve. Me and him, we are kind of similar with our energy."
Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 26 points and eight assists. Paul Pierce added 16 points.
The Celtics have lost a season-high three straight games, all on the road.
"We're going to keep searching," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "This team is not a good team right now.
"This is who we are right now. A .500 team. And we played like that (tonight)."
The Bulls improved to 4-2 in the second of back-to-back games this season. Chicago bounced back from an 80-71 loss in Memphis on Monday, putting up their lowest point total in five seasons.
"I thought we showed a lot of toughness," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought we played hard last night too. We moved the ball a lot better tonight."
The Bulls blew the game open with a 16-5 run to start the fourth quarter. Robinson hit three of his five 3-pointers during the run and scored 15 of his 18 points from behind the arc.
"I had to go back to my whole Peter Pan theory man," Robinson said. "You can't fight without happy thoughts."
Noah fed Taj Gibson for his 10th assist with 8:07 to go in the fourth, increasing Chicago' advantage to 15. His previous triple-double came against Milwaukee on Feb. 22.
"It feels good to win and play well," Noah said. "I think we moved the ball great, and when we move the ball like that, we're a tough team to beat."
Gibson scored a season-high 13 points off the bench, seven in the fourth quarter.
Robinson and Jimmy Butler scored six points each as the Bulls extended their lead to 13 points in the second quarter. Robinson hit two 3-pointers, and the Bulls shot 54 percent in the first half.
"(The bench) was great, and we needed everybody tonight," Thibodeau said.
Boston closed the half with a 7-2 run, with Rondo banking in a 3-pointer and scoring a layup to pull the Celtics within 55-48 at the break. Rondo had 13 points and five assists in the opening half, while Kevin Garnett added 10 points and seven boards while hitting all five of his shots from the floor.
Rondo had 13 points and three assists in the third quarter and brought the Celtics within three on a layup with 3:40 to go in the period. Chicago scored the next nine points and led 79-70 entering the final period.
One bright spot for Boston was that Rondo turned the ball over just three times after totaling 14 in his previous two outings. Rondo turned the ball over 33 times in Boston's six games coming in.
Boston was outscored 30-12 after narrowing the lead to three in the third. Garnett was 0 for 5 and went scoreless after halftime.
"I thought they were clearly the tougher team tonight," Rivers said. "The more physical team. It was not even close."
Deng scored 14 points in the first quarter, going 8 for 8 from the line as the Bulls took a 28-23 lead. Noah assisted on Chicago's first four field goals and finished with six rebounds and five assists in the period.
"(Noah) is amazing man, great passer," Boozer said. "Probably the best passing big man in the league. Underrated, plays hard, has great court vision."
NOTES: The Bulls held their previous two opponents under 40 percent shooting, but Boston was at 44 percent. ... Chicago has held 13 of its last 14 opponents under 100 points. ... Fan favorite Brian Scalabrine made his return to the United Center as a Celtics broadcaster. Scalabrine was a reserve on the Bulls the last two seasons before retiring during the summer. Towards the end of Bulls victories, fans would usually chant his name in an effort to entice Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to insert him into the game. A few fans chanted "Scal-a-brine" towards the end of Tuesday's game.
Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer scored 21 points apiece, Joakim Noah had a triple-double and the Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 100-89 on Tuesday night.
Noah had 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career high-tying 10 assists for his second career triple-double, and the Bulls evened a 101-95 home loss to Boston on Nov. 12.
Nate Robinson scored 18 points for Chicago and keyed a fourth-quarter surge that put the game out of reach.
Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 26 points and eight assists. Paul Pierce added 16 points.
The Celtics have lost a season-high three straight games, all on the road.
The Bulls improved to 4-2 in the second of back-to-back games this season. Chicago bounced back from an 80-71 loss in Memphis on Monday, putting up their lowest point total in five seasons.
One bright spot for Boston was that Rondo turned the ball over just three times after totaling 14 in his previous two outings. Rondo turned the ball over 33 times in Boston's six games coming in.
The Bulls blew the game open with a 16-5 run to start the fourth quarter. Robinson hit three of his five 3-pointers during the run and scored 15 of his 18 points from behind the arc.
Noah fed Taj Gibson for his 10th assist with 8:07 to go in the fourth, increasing Chicago' advantage to 15. His previous triple-double came against Milwaukee on Feb. 22.
Gibson scored a season-high 13 points off the bench, seven in the fourth quarter.
Robinson and Jimmy Butler scored six points each as the Bulls extended their lead to 13 points in the second quarter. Robinson two 3-pointers, and the Bulls shot 54 percent in the first half.
Boston closed the half with a 7-2 run, with Rondo banking in a 3-pointer and scoring a layup to pull the Celtics within 55-48 at the break. Rondo had 13 points and five assists in the opening half, while Kevin Garnett added 10 points and seven boards while hitting all five of his shots from the floor.
Rondo had 13 points and three assists in the third quarter and brought the Celtics within three on a layup with 3:40 to go in the period. Chicago scored the next nine points and led 79-70 entering the final period.
Boston was outscored 30-12 after narrowing the lead to three in the third. Garnett was 0 for 5 and went scoreless after halftime.
Deng scored 14 points in the first quarter, going 8 for 8 from the line as the Bulls took a 28-23 lead. Noah assisted on Chicago's first four field goals and finished with six rebounds and five assists in the period.
- Created on 17 December 2012
Packers Beat Bears at Home
(AP) — The Green Bay Packers have better things to do than trash talk with the Chicago Bears.
Like win the NFC North.
And a few other titles, perhaps.
The Packers delivered the ultimate comeback to the yapping Bears on Sunday, a 21-13 victory that gave Green Bay its second straight NFC North title and put a serious dent in Chicago's playoff hopes. Aaron Rodgers connected with James Jones on all three touchdowns, and Clay Matthews continued his dominance of Jay Cutler with two more sacks as the Packers won their sixth straight against their archrivals.
"Step one is done," Matthews said. "We just have to continue this thing rolling all the way to the playoffs."
The Packers are assured of a home playoff game and, at 10-4, are still in the running for the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Not bad for a team that began the year 2-3.
"I think this team is playing the right way right now," Rodgers said. "We have two games left in the regular season. We want to be peaking at the right time because those are the teams that make the deep runs."
The Bears, meanwhile, are going to need help to get into the playoffs after dropping five of their last six games. It's a stunning slide for a team that began the year 7-1.
"We're down, but we're not out," Cutler said. "We need to remind the guys that there are two games left, and there's a lot of football left. We've got to get back together. We've got to piece this thing back together — however we do it."
Running their mouths off clearly isn't the way to go.
Packers vs. Bears is the NFL's oldest and fiercest rivalry, and the Bears cranked up the heat when Brandon Marshall and Lance Briggs ripped their neighbors to the north earlier in the week. Marshall was particularly passionate, saying he'd never disliked a team as much as he did the Packers and that Sunday's game was "personal."
Rather than get drawn into the fray, the Packers saved their response for the field.
"We don't try to trash talk," Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields said. "When we get on the field we trash talk, but not in the paper. We let our actions show on the field."
Marshall scored Chicago's only touchdown, but finished with 56 yards on six catches, his fewest totals in a month. Cutler had another dismal day against the Packers, throwing an interception that led to the game-winning touchdown. He's been picked off 17 times by the Packers, including 10 in his last five games.
The Bears managed only 67 yards the entire second half, and Alshon Jeffery was whistled for offensive pass interference three times — yes, three — in the final 16 minutes of the game.
"Everybody involved in this offense should be held accountable, even if that means jobs," said Marshall, who struggled to compose himself as he spoke before cutting short his postgame interview. "It's been this way all year. There's no excuse. We still have two games left. There's still hope, but at the same time, we need to be held accountable."
The Packers piled almost 400 yards on Briggs and his buddies, and turned a 7-0 deficit into a 14-7 lead over the last 4:19 of the second quarter thanks to a pair of Rodgers-to-Jones TDs sandwiched around a Casey Hayward pick.
"That was important. That was really important," Rodgers said of the 14-point swing. "We couldn't them get up a couple scores and get into what they wanted to do, which it looked like they wanted to run (Matt) Forte a lot. Getting ahead of them kind of took them out of some of that stuff."
The Packers made it 21 unanswered points on the first drive of the second half. In another third-and-long situation, Rodgers threw incomplete to Jermichael Finley — the guy Bears linebacker Lance Briggs had dubbed "an idiot" after the Packers' tight end said he thought Chicago would be better without injured Brian Urlacher.
But Green Bay got a second chance when Chris Conte was called for pass interference. After a delay of game penalty, Rodgers found Jones for a 6-yard score.
It was Jones' first three-touchdown game and the fourth multiple-TD game of his career.
The Bears had chances to get back into it. Green Bay's Mason Crosby missed two more field goals, and Charles Tillman forced a fumble by Ryan Grant that Nick Roach recovered. Chicago got a big break on the next play when Green Bay safety Morgan Burnett hauled Alshon Jeffery down right in front of the end zone — and right in front of an official. The pass interference penalty gave Chicago the ball at the Green Bay 1.
But the Bears could only get a 34-yard field goal by Olindo Mare out of it after the first of Jeffery's pass interference penalties.
"We're just getting started," coach Mike McCarthy said. "We feel that way as a football team, not trying to be arrogant, (but) we feel there's a lot better football in front of us. It was an extremely important game for everybody involved today, but we fully expected to come in here and win this thing."
NOTES: Matthews has eight sacks of Cutler in eight games. ... The Bears sacked Rodgers three times, with Peppers and Corey Wooton each being credited with 1½. ... Despite two more misses by Crosby, his 11th and 12th this year, McCarthy said the Packers will not be looking for a new kicker. "We're not changing kickers. Write that down right now," McCarthy said. "He's our guy."
