Add Jahlil Okafor to the growing chorus of folks who would love to see Jabari Parker have a sophomore season at Duke.
“I would love for Jabari to stay,” the 6-foot-10 Okafor wrote in his USA Today blog. “We’re both from Chicago and we’re really good friends so to be able to team up with him on that level would be so big.
“He respected me so much throughout my whole recruitment and he never once said ‘Come to Duke.’ He always said to do what was best for me and whatever makes me happy. That’s how I feel about his decision at the end of the season. I want him to do what’s right for him and what makes him happy.”
Parker, projected as a top-3 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, told SNY.tv last month that he could envision teaming with Okafor next season at Duke.
If that ever happened, pencil in Duke as the favorite to cut down the nets in 2015.
“Oh, it would be great,” the 6-foot-8 Parker said.
“I would just work off him. A lot of attention would come up towards him and a lot of attention will come towards me, so we can work hand-in-hand with each other depending on where we are on different spots on the floor.”
Longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski also told SNY.tv that he could imagine Parker coming back, depending upon how his season ends at Duke.
“If they go to Duke, I think the chances of Jabari coming back for another year to play with his former AAU teammate and friend, Jahlil Okafor, those chances increase exponentially,” he said. “And that’s a potential national championship. You have Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker. When [Parker] committed he talked about you never know, he might stay more than a year.
“And I’m not saying that he definitely will if Okafor goes there, but I think the chances increase significantly.”
Meantime, Okafor and fellow Duke recruit Tyus Jones are due to meet in high school action Thursday night on ESPN2.
“We’ve definitely been talking a lot of trash so expect a lot of that during that game, but everyone knows that after the game it’s all love,” Okafor wrote. “That’s my brother.”
