College Basketball Recruiting: Jabari Parker Visits Florida Gators

Chicago's Simeon hoops phenom Jabari Parker may have tumbled a couple spots in national recruiting rankings in the recent weeks but he still remains one of the most highly touted prep players in the last decade. 

After narrowing his college list to five last month (BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State and Stanford), the 6'8" small forward took a visit to Duke this week, reportedly making the Blue Devils a frontrunner.  He also took the short trip up to East Lansing and plans to visit Stanford (Nov. 9th) along with BYU (Nov. 16th) but this weekend belongs to Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators.

There has not been much chatter regarding Parker's increased interest in UF and while they still appear to be at or at least near the bottom of the final five, an equally impressive hosting in Gainesville, as he had in Durham, could certainly sway him. 

The Gators have already locked up two five-star recruits for next season: Kasey Hill and Chris Walker, but with Hill expecting to take over the point in 2013 and the 6'10" Walker living down low, there would be a plethora of shots to be taken for Parker. While Hill and Walker will be joining Florida in 2013, they stand to lose multiple upperclassmen in Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario and potentially Patric Young.

Because Parker has scheduled five consecutive week visits to each of his final five schools, look for him to narrow the list down to two or three by the end of November and potentially make a decision soon thereafter.  As of now, the Florida Gators appear to be on the outside looking in, but a memorable visit and a good impression from Billy Donovan this weekend could quickly change that.