Duke’s Hall of Fame and Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski used to shy away from recruiting players who had NBA one and done potential, claiming his storied program was not “an extended stay hotel.”
But the idea of coaching forward Jabari Parker and center Jahlil Okafor– two of the best prospects ever from the city of Chicago– was just too tantalizing to resist.
The 6-8, 248-pound Parker, who led Simeon High to the Illinois AA state championship last season, has an NBA ready game and has established himself as one of the three most dominant freshmen in the country, along with forward Andrew Wiggins of Kansas and power forward Julius Randle of Kansas.
The 6-11, 270-pound Okafor from Whitney Young High School, who just announced he would sign with the Blue Devils last Friday, has an even bigger upside.
Okafor, who is of Nigerian descent and is a distant cousin of 2004 NCAA Most Outstanding Player Emeka Okafor, has the potential to be the best big man to enter college basketball since Patrick Ewing, a three-time All-America who played for Georgetown from 1982 through 1985. He is a classic old school, back to the basket low post player who combined physicality with sophisticated post moves and a hair trigger release on his shot. He has elicted comparisons to both Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan.
Okafor caught my attention last summer as a 17-year old playing up on the U.S. U19 team that went undefeated and won a gold medal at the World Championships in Prague.
Despite playing just 14.8 minutes a game, Okafor averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, shot 77.2 percent and was one of two Americans, along with Arizona versatile 6-8 freshman forward Aaron Gordon, to make the all-tournament team.
NBA Scouts who watched Okafor dominate in Prague suggested he likely would be the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft if he was allowed to declare out of high school. Most thought he was the best NBA prospect in that international tournament.
Okafor’s decision and that of childhood friend Tyus Jones from Apple Valley, Minn., the best point guard in the Class of 2014, to sign with the Blue Devils as a package deal should make Duke the early favorite to win the national championship in the 2015 season. The two decided they wanted to attend the same school in 10th grade and hosted the same five schools– Kansas, Michigan State, Baylor, Ohio State and Duke. They made official visits together to Baylor, Kansas and Duke and are in the process of recruited undecided 6-6 forward Justice Winslow of Houston St. John’s, a Top 10 USA basketball grass roots teammate, to join them in Cameron. Although it seems unlikely, if Okafor can convince Parker to stay for a sophomore year, the Blue Devils could become one of the best ACC teams ever.
Okafor. who averaged 20.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots while leading his team to the Chicago Public League championship as a junior, just fulfilling his destiny. When he was just 13 years old and a ever growing eighth grader at Rosemont Elementary, he received a much publicized letter from DePaul offering him a scholarship in violation of NCAA rules. The next year, at age 14, he was invited to try out for a USA U16 team and made the roster. Two summers later, he was selected the MVP of the U.S. U17 team that won a gold medal in the world championships at Lithuania following his 10th grade season.
Icons like Okafor and Parker have given Chicago a well deserved reputation as incubator for great prep prospects who can compare favorably with any major city in the country. The list begins with the great George Mikan and Red Kerr and includes such distinguished members of Chicago Magazine’s all-time Chicago land team like Cazzie Russell, Quinn Buckner, Rickey Green, Mo Cheeks, Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings, Doc Rivers, Isiah Thomas, Hersey Hawkins, Jeff Hornacek Marcus Liberty, Nick Anderson, Deon Thomas, Eddie Johnson, Michael Finley, Juwan Howard, Darrell Walker, Rashard Griffith, Kevin Garnett (for one year), Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Tim Hardaway, Corey Maggette, Eddy Curry, Dwyane Wade, Shannon Brown, Dee Brown, Antoine Walker, Evan Turner, Brian Wardle, Melvin Ely, Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis.
The fact Okafor and Parker have become part of that conversation speaks volumes for their extraordinary talents.
Krzyzewski, who was born and bred in Chicago, has not had to rely on his hometown for a recruiting base over the years, cherry picking players like Chris Collins and Maggette to flesh out his roster in the past. But he is a big game hunter and this was the second straight year he won the recruiting battle for Illiniois’ best prospect. Sadly, since the mid-early 90’s, none of the truly great ones have not stayed local, following a constant exodus out of town to Big Ten schools or brand name national programs like Kentucky, Memphis, Marquette, Kansas and Duke. The city’s last great college teams were NCAA champion Loyola of Chicago in 1963 and top-ranked DePaul in 1981
Okafor was drawn to Duke because of its academics and Tobacco Road tradition, which has been enhanced by Krzyzewski, who has won four national championships, coached Duke to 11 Final Fours and will have won more than 900 career games by the time Okafor matriculates. “I feel comfortable playing for the winningest coach ever. I want to be around to help him win his 1,000th,” Okafor said at his press conference.
Krzyzewski is getting a family oriented, well rounded student who likes to play chess and plays both the saxophone and tuba. He has even been writing a blog for USA Today on his recruitment and his life, claiming his favorite TV show is “Pretty Little Liars” and stating he wore all white shell toe Adidas shoes on the first day of school.
Okafor’s life has been scarred by tragedy.
He spent his early childhood shuttling between Moffett, a small town with a population of 127 located on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border, where his mother lived, and Chicago, where his father, Chukwudi, lives. When he was nine years old, his mother was diagnosed with bronchitis. One of her lungs collapsed and she died. At a memorial service in the gym of a local elementary school in Moffett, Okla., Okafor recited from memory a poem he wrote in her honor.
“My mother is very special, very helpful.
She cares, she shares.
I miss her and I will always be with her.
She had a smile that shined more than the sun
I’m happy to be her son.”
After his mother’s death, Okafor moved with his father, a former 6-5 high school player from Chicago’s Bowen High and played power forward at West Texas A @ M, to the South Side, and then to Rosemont. The tight knit family, which includes Okafor’s older sister and two younger brothers, moved to the North Side so Okafor could attend Whitney Young, where his father serves as an assistant coach. Okafor also has received much of his emotional support from his uncle, a Chicago policeman, and his aunt.
There was only one person missing during Okafor’s big day.
Okafor’s mother was on his mind when he made his announcement in front of a packed crowd of 900 at the Whitney Young gym that included Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and was teelvised live on ESPNU. “Before I go out for big events, I pray to her,” he said, fighting back tears. “Basketball takes some of the pain away from missing my mom so much, but I also feel like I always have somebody watching my back. She’s the wings for me when I play on the court.”
