Why a Delayed Jabari Parker Decision is Good News for Stanford
Posted by KDanna on October 17th, 2012Probably to the dismay of many college basketball fans who are more than curious to find out which school he will attend next fall, reports came out yesterday that Jabari Parker has no plan to sign with one of his final five schools in the early signing period this November, instead likely making a decision in December. So now Duke, Michigan State, BYU, Florida and Stanford will most likely have to wait an extra month to find out where the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2013 will take his talents (though he can’t officially sign with a team until April), barring a sudden change of mind.
Top recruit Jabari Parker Will Wait to Make His Decision (AP)
While I’m sure a similar case could be made for every school still remaining on Parker’s list, this news could be especially good for Stanford. While the Cardinal have had some recent success in the last 10 years, the success Duke, Michigan State, Florida and BYU have had is much more immediate and in most cases, longer lasting. Stanford, by comparison, hasn’t made the Big Dance in the last four years; in that span, the other four schools have combined for a 15 of 16 possible NCAA Tournament appearances (only Florida didn’t make it all four years), three Final Fours (Michigan State twice, Duke once) and one national championship (Duke). Duke, Michigan State and Florida are established national powerhouses, while BYU is very much settled in to being one of those non-power conference schools that are regularly in the spotlight.
None of the other four schools really need to prove that they are headed in the right direction; a down season in 2012-13 could be dismissed as an aberration. The same can’t be said for Stanford. While things appear to be headed that way for the Cardinal after winning the 2012 NIT and returning most of last year’s core, Johnny Dawkins’ team still needs to prove that it can take that next step and make the NCAA Tournament.
So yes, a down season for Stanford could be disastrous for the uprising program, but an NCAA Tournament appearance (and heck, maybe a win or two in the dance) would show that the Farm Boys are officially ready to brush shoulders with the block bullies again. There’s a much higher ceiling for Jabari Parker to be impressed about the direction of the Cardinal program than there is for any other school on that magic list of his. While Parker will reportedly make his decision well before it’s decided whether Stanford will make next year’s NCAA Tournament, the Cardinal have plenty of early big games on the docket to prove they are on par with the big boys – a Thanksgiving weekend in the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis with a tournament-opening game against Missouri and a road date at NC State in mid-December looming especially large (assuming Parker doesn’t make his decision by December 18). Thus, waiting an extra month gives the Cardinal a chance to make their impression where it ultimately matters most as a program: on the floor. And sure, the other four schools will have that same opportunity, but a great start to the season would just reaffirm rather than greatly impress.
Also, this extra time can be beneficial to Stanford in the pursuit of other 2013 recruits and beyond. Johnny Dawkins and staff can honestly tell their other targets (most notably five-star power forward Aaron Gordon, although the Cardinal aren’t very high on his list) that he could very well suit up with the top-ranked player in his class should he come to Stanford. That might deter some other small forwards who would fear for a lack of playing time, but it could potentially open the gates for everyone else to raise an eyebrow and say “hey, if Jabari is seriously considering Stanford, maybe I should too.” Even if the Cardinal miss out on Parker, Dawkins can still sell recruits on the fact that Parker seriously considered coming to Stanford even during a time when the Cardinal hadn’t been a recent power. Make the Tournament this year, and the argument becomes even stronger to recruits in the classes of 2014 and 2015 that Stanford is not a school to overlook from a basketball perspective.
It’s a long wait that I’m sure will be filled with many tense moments for the Cardinal coaching staff, but one that could potentially pay major dividends down the line.
