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Jabari Parker says farewell to Duke, Cameron Crazies

Jabari Parker

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After one season at Duke forward Jabari Parker made the decision to enter the 2014 NBA Draft, and given his status as one of the top players available that move didn’t come as a surprise. But that doesn’t mean it was easy to move on, and on Thursday the Chicago native took the time to say farewell via his Instagram account.

In the post is a photo of Cameron Indoor Stadium, with Parker offering words of gratitude to those who supported him during his stay in Durham.


“Finally found the time to get to it so I’ll start here. Last summer I spent countless nights walking across this floor, looking at the banners of the players/coaches responsible for this great program. Then I look off over into the stands, home to some of the best fans. Lastly, I walk over to our team’s bench, dreaming of the moment when they call out “A 6'8 freshman from Chicago, IL.” When that moment came it blessed my life. To live your dream, being apart of a family that stands up for each other, representing a program that’s more than any single person.

“The DUKE basketball program takes a team to be successful on a daily basis. I knew from H.S. that I wanted to be apart of a program that was going to need every single person. Duke didn’t need JP, JP needed Duke. After the season, I go sit in the highest seats in the building aka “the nest”. There I remember all the good moments I had playing on coach K court. As soon as I’m done with that, I walk out into the hallway looking at the players before me, hoping that I could be one of those guys too. To end, I want to thank everyone who embraced me into the Duke family. Especially the fans, I appreciate you for sticking up for a university that hold about 11,000 students (if that). I’m no #AntiUNC, but I’m #ProDuke.

“To everyone out in Carolina, thank you for the best hospitality in the world. I never met so many nice people before. I will miss you Cameron indoor, Cameron Crazies, the team, the coaches, but most of all, those little people who contribute to Duke in the biggest ways.”

Parker is one of the players in the running to be the top pick in the June draft, with the Kansas tandem of Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid also being viewed as prime candidates for the spot. However who will hold the top pick won’t be known until the NBA Draft lottery on May 20.

Milwaukee, which finished the season with a 15-67 record, has a 25 percent chance of winning the lottery.

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