When you play for any other school in the country, being LDS is a footnote...and when you move on from that school the subject is never broached. Jabari Parker's faith is basically a footnote right now.

On the other hand, if you play for BYU your faith becomes a major plot device in the narrative used to define you. Mormon players who played for BYU are identified as Mormon...and as a result are naturally promoting their faith on a level that doesn't happen if your college is Duke or Stanford or any other school.

Does that mean every LDS player should go to BYU? Absolutely not. Jabari Parker made his decision based on his goals and what he wanted. His choice of Duke has no bearing whatsoever on his fidelity to his faith. However, if he had chosen to go to BYU he would have been a more visible ambassador of that faith. When you look at his personality, that might have been part of his equation. He's not a spotlight kind of guy. He's low key. He'd be far more visible in terms of his faith if he were wearing the mantle of BYU alum.

Now if you have the personality that really wants to embrace being a public ambassador of the Church...being a BYU alum is the best venue for that. But no one is required to sign up for that kind of scrutiny. I wish he had come to BYU...but whatever his reasons were for choosing Duke, they are valid.

As to Jackson, he doesn't come in with the hype of Jabari but the kid absolutely has talent and would have the chance to be teamed with a unique generation of LDS players and potentially be part of the group that breaks BYU's ignominious title of having the most tourney appearances without ever making a Final Four. Emery, Haws, Jackson, Dastrup, Mika...et. al...that's a team that with some bounces could absolutely be a national force. When you grow up in the shadow of Y mountain, the idea of being part of history would have to be appealing. Or...go to Duke and just expect to see the Final Four because it's Duke. That ain't bad either...