This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Chicago high school basketball phenom Jabari Parker is apparently still interested in BYU. The forward at Simeon High School listed his favorite 10 schools via Twitter on Wednesday night, and the Cougars made the list along with some of the top programs in the country. Parker is a member of BYU's sponsoring institution, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His tweet, after noting in a previous tweet that he would be tweeting out his top 10: "UK, Stanford, michigan state, Kansas, Florida, Duke, BYU, Georgetown, Depaul, UNC. No order." Sports Illustrated recently called Parker the top high school talent in the country since LeBron James, and he was named the national Gatorade Player of the Year after his junior season. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Illinois did not make the list. Meanwhile, all indications are that BYU coaches are recruiting Parker as if they believe they have a legitimate shot at landing the superstar. A few months ago, I asked a source who is very, very close to the program if Parker was giving BYU any indication that he is genuinely interested in the school, and not simply giving is a "courtesy mention" because he is LDS. "I think that, just like with every recruit, [BYU] will stay in there until the recruit decides that BYU is not an option for them. And that is not the case with [Parker] yet. Absolutely, yeah [he has been receptive to BYU's pitch]. What a great kid."