Northwestern received a letter of intent Thursday from star high school basketball player T.J. Parker.
Parker committed orally to attend NU in January after meeting with coach Bill Carmody, who offered the 6-foot-2 point guard a full scholarship at the Wildcats’ Jan. 2 game against Indiana.
Carmody said Thursday in a statement that Parker would be an excellent addition to the team.
“He is a fundamentally sound basketball player who also boasts great speed,” Carmody said. “He also has that special quality of lifting up his teammates and making them better players.”
The 17-year-old point guard, who played for Lisle High School in Chicago’s west suburbs, could fill an important gap for the Cats, as starting point guard Collier Drayton will graduate this spring.
“I hope I can come in and play right away,” Parker told The Daily in February. “But I have to prove myself first.”
The French-born Parker earned All-State honors from the Associated Press this year, averaging 22 points and 3.5 assists a game.
Mark D’Amico, Parker’s coach at Lisle, said the guard’s ball-handling and passing skills will have an immediate impact on the Cats.
“I think Northwestern’s got a great kid with a tremendous upside,” D’Amico told The Daily in February. “He has a controlled quickness, which is something others don’t have. He’ll defend the other team’s best perimeter player and shut him down night in and night out.”
Basketball entrenches Parker’s family history. His father, Tony, played professionally in Europe for 15 years, and his brother, also named Tony, is the 19-year-old rookie point guard for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association.
Parker said his goal is to make it to the NBA, and D’Amico said he can imagine the younger Parker sharing in his older brother’s success.
“T.J. has great focus, and I can see that improving,” D’Amico said. “He’s always wanting to get to the next level. As far as I’m concerned, the sky’s the limit.”
But for now, D’Amico said Parker will be an excellent resource for NU.
“If T.J. has good players around him, he’ll get them the ball,” he said. “He’ll make those around him better. I’ve seen NU play and I like what they do. Carmody and his staff are a really good fit for T.J.”
Parker is the third player NU has signed this year. Forward Jimmy Maley of Lyons High School and guard Evan Seacat from Paoli, Ind., have already signed on the dotted line for the Cats.
