Mission age!

Does this announcement change Jabari's decision now? Will he just leave on a mission right out of school and coming back to the NBA? Or will it encourage him to leave now and then come back to BYU to play a year before the NBA?



Go Cougs!!!

J. Child

Ammon, ID

I have no idea if this will affect Jabari or not, but I think it will impact recruiting quite a bit. Those who are planning on serving at 18 will leave right out of high school and will have a mission under their belts before deciding where to play. It will be interesting to see how this changes the atmosphere of recruiting LDS athletes, as many won't put in a year before leaving.

No Idea, but this is huge. Not just for Jabari, but for every BYU athlete (and every BYU student come to that), this could absolutely revolutionize BYU sports. Imagine not having to burn so many redshirts on Freshmen that won't play the next year anyway. Imagine having every player on the team be in Taysom's position (come back from mission with 4 years of eligibility). Sooo awesome. I'm sure there are unintended consequences that I can't foresee, but I don't think this makes LDS kids more likely to go to schools other than BYU and I'm sure the number of kids choosing to go to BYU during their missions will go up since there will be no pressure to sign an LOI before they leave on the mish.



Also, why, why, why couldn't this have happened at last conference before Demarcus xferred to clemson (dash it all!)



Huge huge huge!

It could affect basketball for the next couple of years. The roster is already laid out for the next couple of years. Do the kids change the plans and leave out of high school or stay with the plan. With Haws and all coming in, there could be some disruptions.

I can't believe that Thomas Monson would blatantly change the mission age, just to help BYU land Jabari.

SpiffCoug wrote:
I can't believe that Thomas Monson would blatantly change the mission age, just to help BYU land Jabari.

Everyone knows the Missionary Program is just a cover for the high-altitude, 24/7 athlete development centers that the church runs. It's the only thing that could explain why RMs come back with such incredible fitness levels. The age-change is just the next logical step.

Nick Emery already tweeting he is putting in his papers ASAP, so that puts him out a year early already.

BerliNY wrote:

I can't believe that Thomas Monson would blatantly change the mission age, just to help BYU land Jabari.

Everyone knows the Missionary Program is just a cover for the high-altitude, 24/7 athlete development centers that the church runs. It's the only thing that could explain why RMs come back with such incredible fitness levels. The age-change is just the next logical step.

+1 :lol: :lol: :lol:

I get the sense Jabari doesn't have plans to serve a mission.



The new policy should give him some food for thought, though.



Pure speculation on my part.



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snoscythe wrote:
Nick Emery already tweeting he is putting in his papers ASAP, so that puts him out a year early already.

This was always his plan. He is older and was going to leave on a mission right after high school before the announcement was made anyway.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865564086/Jabari-Parker-considering-impact-of-LDS-mission-age-change.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Jabari Parker may pull a Bradley and go into the NBA right off a mission.



"If he's going at 18, he would go to a mission and then possibly go to college or to the NBA,"

1. Bradley played a year before his mission and had a huge freshman season (which he parlayed into the #2 pick and a bundle of cash after his mission)



2. Has anyone considered the fact that Jabari could see going to BYU for 1-2 years before going pro the alternative to a mission, yet still fulfilling his desire to be close to the church before the hip hop thung life of the NBA?



3. I don't think Jabari is the type of athlete that can jump right to the pros after a mission and not fall down the draft board. He's a polished player but he's not a freakish 7'6" and he's not Michael Jordan. I don't think this would be a wise decision.



I'm not sure the mission age thing for Jabari in particular helps BYU in the near term. He would have to be rerecruited in 2 years, which might pay dividends in the long run but I don't see much benefit to BYU the hoops program right now by this news. It just gave Jabari more options than what I see as Coach K vs Coach Rose next year.

Bradley was the #2 pick and yes, he played before he went on a mission. However, with new mission rules Parker won't have to play and based on the quote by his father, might go straight to the NBA of his mission.

rblack wrote:
Bradley was the #2 pick and yes, he played before he went on a mission. However, with new mission rules Parker won't have to play and based on the quote by his father, might go straight to the NBA of his mission.

Like I've said for the last couple of years; Jabari is a skilled player but not an elite athlete, not an elite shooter, and not an elite defender. I don't think he's NBA ready and I think his lack of elite athleticism and lack of post man size makes him a Jared Sulinger type guy that could be really good in college and mediocre as a pro.



He's from all reports a world class human being, but he's simply not a sure fire hall of famer like Lebron, Garnett, Kobe and others. Doesn't mean he won't make a good pro eventually but I think he needs the college game. I've watched a ton of tape on him and if he were 6'10" then I might agree, but he's a slow three and an undersized 4. I don't know if he has an ideal position in the league.

I don't think any team in today's NBA would go out and spend a draft pick on a 20 year old kid who hasn't played competitive ball in 2 years, much less maintained conditioning. I can guarantee he won't go first round, because no team is going to guarantee him a 3-year contract. Then in the second-round he'd be jockeying with all the foreigners, collegiate all-americans, and high-schoolers who they have tape on for the last two years.



If he's going to serve a mission, he's going to need to play college for one year or risk an undrafted FA contract and a D-League assignment.

I agree, he would probably be wisest to play in college at least one year.

snoscythe wrote:
I don't think any team in today's NBA would go out and spend a draft pick on a 20 year old kid who hasn't played competitive ball in 2 years, much less maintained conditioning. I can guarantee he won't go first round, because no team is going to guarantee him a 3-year contract. Then in the second-round he'd be jockeying with all the foreigners, collegiate all-americans, and high-schoolers who they have tape on for the last two years.



If he's going to serve a mission, he's going to need to play college for one year or risk an undrafted FA contract and a D-League assignment.

The Jazz used a #3 pick on a 19-year old kid who hadn't played competitively in a year when they took Enes Kanter.

SpiffCoug wrote:
The Jazz used a #3 pick on a 19-year old kid who hadn't played competitively in a year when they took Enes Kanter.

I assume Kanter spent that year training and still playing a lot of basketball.

tmoney35 wrote:

The Jazz used a #3 pick on a 19-year old kid who hadn't played competitively in a year when they took Enes Kanter.

I assume Kanter spent that year training and still playing a lot of basketball.

Your assumption is correct because SpiffCoug is flat wrong. Kanter practiced with the Wildcats up until January 2011 when his final NCAA appeal was denied, and he immediately left UK to join the Turkish National Team and played with them through the EuroBasket qualifying rounds right up to and after draft day until the Turks were eliminated three months after the draft. Kanter refused to sign his rookie wage scale contract with the Jazz for six months because he was finishing up playing basketball for his national team.



Kanter might not have played in college for the year before, but he was definitely playing competitive ball overseas.

I stand corrected. I forget he played for the Turks.