It Is Doubtful Jabari Parker Will Go On a Mormon Mission

That headline is not an announcement; it is just a hunch.

Now that his college decision is out of the way, the question for Jabari Parker is this… will he go on a Mormon mission after his freshman year at Duke?

“He doesn’t really know at this point. There’s so much going on. He has to finish up his senior year and he also chose to go to Duke University,” Sonny Parker, Jabari’s father, said. “He’s thought about it, but he hasn’t made a decision…. He is still part of the church. That will never change.”

That is quite the statement by Sonny, who is not a Mormon, about his son. “That will never change”. Hmmm.

I don’t believe Parker will go on a mission, because he cares about basketball too much. Parker could also do so much more for the LDS church playing basketball, than he would getting the door slammed in his face in Rio De Janeiro.

I also am not as sure as Sonny Parker that Jabari will keep his faith through college. The Mormon Church has a pretty ugly past when it comes to how they treated African Americans. It would not surprise me if Jabari met a smart Dukie-girl who maybe talked him out of his faith a bit.

Then again, Parker has proven that he walks to his own drum, so maybe this will all be wrong and he will go on a mission after his freshman year. When he gets back? The NBA will be waiting for him.