DURHAM, N.C. – Simeon Career Academy senior Jabari Parker officially signed his national letter of intent to play basketball at Duke University, the Duke coaching staff announced Thursday.

Shortly after the fall signing period for recruits ended, Parker announced his commitment to Duke with a live press conference on ESPNU on December 20. Because his decision was made after the fall signing period, Parker had to wait until this spring to officially sign his national letter of intent.

"We're excited for Jabari and his family to join our family here at Duke," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We are confident he will have a great career, and we are glad to have him in our program."

A 6-8 forward, Parker is a consensus top-five recruit by the major scouting services, earning the No. 1 ranking from Recruiting Services Consensus Index, the No. 2 ranking by ESPN and Scout.com and the No. 4 ranking by Rivals.com. He joins a 2013 recruiting class that includes DeSoto High School guard Matt Jones and Ottawa High School forward Semi Ojeleye.

The first player to twice be named Mr. Basketball of Illinois, Parker has played in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoop Summit. He was named co-MVP at the Jordan Brand Classic after totaling 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. At the McDonald’s All-American Game, he scored 10 points with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. In the Nike Hoop Summit, he netted 22 points with seven rebounds, three steals a pair of blocks.

Parker led Simeon to four straight Illinois Class 4A Championships and a 30-3 record as a senior. In the state championship game against Stevenson, Parker scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to cap a senior season in which he averaged 18.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He averaged 21.7 points during Simeon’s seven-game playoff run.

Parker was also a member of the USA Basketball U16 and U17 teams, helping the U17 squad win gold at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship and the U16 team win gold at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. He was named USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2011 and MVP of the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.