Five star center Tony Parker will be at Duke this weekend for his official visit. Parker has already taken official visits to Ohio State, UCLA and Memphis. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Parker was supposed to take an official visit to Georgetown last weekend, but ended up cancelling the visit. It is unknown at this point if Parker will reschedule his visit to Georgetown.
The departure of Miles Plumlee and possibly Mason Plumlee after this season warrants the need for an immediate-impact post player from the 2012 class. At 6-foot-9 and 260 lbs., Parker would give Duke a much needed wide-bodied presence with the ability to score on the low block, something Duke has lacked since Sheldon Williams. According to scout.com, the Georgia native is the eighth ranked center in a 2012 class loaded with quality big men.
In recent tweets, Parker has been labeled by recruiting analyst Evan Daniels of scout.com as having one of the best poker faces in the 2012 class when it comes to recruiting. Parker has shown few signs of favoritism in his interviews, though Duke and Ohio State are thought to be the favorites for Parker at this point.
Parker is expected to sign his letter of intent during the early signing period, November 9-16. Parker’s high school team, Miller Grove of Lithonia, Georgia, is ranked second in the preseason Fab 50 rankings by ESPNHS. Before the new year, Miller Grove will play Oak Hill Academy December 16th and will also play in the high profile City of Palms tournament in Florida.
In other news: The NCAA is considering making significant changes to men’s basketball recruiting rules. Notably, the proposals include deregulation of electronic communication between prospects and college coaches starting in a prospect’s sophomore year, official visits starting January 1st of a prospect’s junior season, permissible contact between college coaches and prospects during the July evaluation and three four-day evaluation periods in July among other proposed changes. These proposals will be voted on October 27th.
The proposals are especially pertinent to Duke’s recruiting considering head coach Mike Krzyewski’s obligations to team USA basketball this summer in the 2012 Olympics. If passed, it would allow the Duke staff to increase contact and possibly accelerate the recruitment with their 2013 and 2014 recruits.
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