Jabari Parker will emerge as the best ... according to Mike Wilbon

[IGOTGAME]

I believe I heard this from Steve Kerr, who was relating a story he got from Grant Hill, about how good Parker is.

Hill apparently was playing pickup at Duke in the off season with a bunch of current and former Dukies, and said Parker was absolutely spectacular. Absolutely no question he was among the best players on the floor including a few current pros.

And the thing he said that set him apart was just how big he is. He's a legit 6-9, with length, and he says really impressively strong. That was the biggest thing. He could totally hold up in the post against anyone there.

And I think that's one of the biggest reasons Parker's value seems to be jumping. Yeah he's playing great, but I don't think he's playing so great that anyone is shocked. It's the fact that's he's playing center. His rebounding numbers are super. And his blocked shot numbers are great. And in the current NBA, I think the big question surrounding Parker coming into the season was position. He had a little tweener on him. Was he quick enough to defend at the SF spot. Was he big enough to hold up as a PF and could he rebound and defend for you up on that frontcourt. I think more than anything he's establishing that he can play PF in today's NBA. Carmello is playing a ton of PF. Guys like Jeff Green are playing PF. I think more teams are getting higher on him because they can now fully envision him as a stretch four breaking down bigger guys off the bounce and pulling defenders away from the rim. And they don't see him as being a liability in the other elements most stretch PFs bring to the table there if he can translate the rebounding at shot blocking in particular. And he can still play SF in a lot of situations.

Tweeners are weird. It's a fine line between being a mismatch at both positions, and being overmatched at both positions. So they're often total boom or bust prospects.

Good post. I agree and think that Jabari is just gonna be a mismatch at either spot. I feel like he is good at playing angles and that will also allow him to guard 3s.

[Dizzle-2k7]

actually, ball handling and shooting aren't hard to improve on at all.

BULLSHlT

yea you can "improve" ball handling, but if you dont have it by now you aint never gonna get it . and by "it" i mean "IT" .. that factor parker has is "IT".

wiggins looks like corey brewer out there while parker looks like melo/pierce hybrid . its not even close and i dont see how wiggins was this hyped with his limited skillset.

[noob cake]

BULLSHlT

yea you can "improve" ball handling, but if you dont have it by now you aint never gonna get it . and by "it" i mean "IT" .. that factor parker has is "IT".

wiggins looks like corey brewer out there while parker looks like melo/pierce hybrid . its not even close and i dont see how wiggins was this hyped with his limited skillset.

This,

Wiggins has been playing basketball for his whole life. He is not some African kid who started basketball 3 years ago.

[IGOTGAME]

BULLSHlT

yea you can "improve" ball handling, but if you dont have it by now you aint never gonna get it . and by "it" i mean "IT" .. that factor parker has is "IT".

wiggins looks like corey brewer out there while parker looks like melo/pierce hybrid . its not even close and i dont see how wiggins was this hyped with his limited skillset.

Look at TMac.

[noob cake]

Look at TMac.

TMac's handles was way more advanced than Wiggins at the same age. Besides TMac is the exception, not the norm.

[IGOTGAME]

TMac's handles was way more advanced than Wiggins at the same age. Besides TMac is the exception, not the norm.

And athletically they are both exceptions to pretty much everything.

[unbreakable]

Look at TMac.

TMAC always had handles and a natural feel for the game.. bad comparison..

[IGOTGAME]

TMAC always had handles and a natural feel for the game.. bad comparison..

Rookie TMac wasn't that different from how Wiggins look now.

[unbreakable]

Rookie TMac wasn't that different from how Wiggins look now.

again i disagree. tmacs always had a crossover, stutter, and touch. wiggins handles the rock like george hill lmao

[noob cake]

again i disagree. tmacs always had a crossover, stutter, and touch. wiggins handles the rock like george hill lmao

lol Hill has passable handles for a PG. Wiggins is at best average for a NBA SF. If he could handle as well as a PG, we wouldn't have this discussion.

[BIZARRO]

Totally agree, the Wiggins love has been absurd since day one.

If you just watch them on the court Parker and Randle are men, and Wiggins is an unskilled boy who can jump high.

I love all these blind Wiggins fans who go by everything they were told about him rather than by watching him play. Went to the McDonald's All-American game and took one look at him and thought WHAT? THIS is the guy they're raving about? Didn't add up.

And then to make it worse, all this potential talk as if he just started playing. You are who you are out there. Once in a while you'll get a T-Mac who really improves, but for every T-Mac there's a ton of Ronnie Fields and people like that.

Parker and Randle are sure fire can't miss prospects. Parker is transcendent.
Wiggins is a fabrication that for whatever reason people bought into before they saw him consistently play.

In fact, I think he is one of the most inaccurately scouted players ever before he hit college. Anyone who put him above Parker should lose their jobs.
I mean, I took one look at them and was like Parker is incredible and Wiggins has zero aura whatsoever.

I hope Wiggins turns into something, but this whole thing is so stupid to me and makes no sense how he got so hyped.

[WhySoInsecure?]

Totally agree, the Wiggins love has been absurd since day one.

If you just watch them on the court Parker and Randle are men, and Wiggins is an unskilled boy who can jump high.

I love all these blind Wiggins fans who go by everything they were told about him rather than by watching him play. Went to the McDonald's All-American game and took one look at him and thought WHAT? THIS is the guy they're raving about? Didn't add up.

And then to make it worse, all this potential talk as if he just started playing. You are who you are out there. Once in a while you'll get a T-Mac who really improves, but for every T-Mac there's a ton of Ronnie Fields and people like that.

Parker and Randle are sure fire can't miss prospects. Parker is transcendent.
Wiggins is a fabrication that for whatever reason people bought into before they saw him consistently play.

In fact, I think he is one of the most inaccurately scouted players ever before he hit college. Anyone who put him above Parker should lose their jobs.
I mean, I took one look at them and was like Parker is incredible and Wiggins has zero aura whatsoever.

I hope Wiggins turns into something, but this whole thing is so stupid to me and makes no sense how he got so hyped.

Agree on most of this except for Randle. He moves well with the ball but he's undersized, is an average athlete and is not a presence on the defensive end. He'll get stuck between the 4 and the 3 and you really can't build your team around that.

[BIZARRO]

Here's a great article from a day ago on Jabari Parker. I think it's spot on and a good read:

http://deadspin.com/college-basketba...full+(Deadspin)

It's just the way he affects the game as much as anything as well. You just have to watch him to KNOW he's better than everybody else. No wonder the guy won all 4 state titles in high school.

[Jailblazers7]

The Wiggins criticism has been taken to a bit of an extreme. Anyone remember the criticism of Paul George coming out of college? Couldn't dribble/create for himself and looked a little disinterested at times. The guy has never develop a tight handle because he hasn't needed to. His first step has been good enough to dominate his whole HS career and he isn't given a ton a responsibility at Kansas. Give him 24/7 access to coaches and trainers in the NBA and he will fill out and develop his skills.

Not sure how anyone could say Randle and Parker are sure fire prospects but trash Wiggins for being overhyped. Randle has a lot of work to do in order to be a starting 4 in the NBA. Still really raw and relies to heavily on natural strength and his strong hand. Parker looks great and I think he will be a mismatch problem but, as Thorpe said, there is a fine line between boom and bust when it comes to a tweener.

[JtotheIzzo]

The Wiggins criticism has been taken to a bit of an extreme. Anyone remember the criticism of Paul George coming out of college? Couldn't dribble/create for himself and looked a little disinterested at times. The guy has never develop a tight handle because he hasn't needed to. His first step has been good enough to dominate his whole HS career and he isn't given a ton a responsibility at Kansas. Give him 24/7 access to coaches and trainers in the NBA and he will fill out and develop his skills.

Not sure how anyone could say Randle and Parker are sure fire prospects but trash Wiggins for being overhyped. Randle has a lot of work to do in order to be a starting 4 in the NBA. Still really raw and relies to heavily on natural strength and his strong hand. Parker looks great and I think he will be a mismatch problem but, as Thorpe said, there is a fine line between boom and bust when it comes to a tweener.

The Wiggins bashing is en vogue right now, people seem to conveniently forget who took over the game when they went head to head and who won, and which player dominated the last five minutes while shutting down the other.