Jabari Parker offers advice to the Jordan Brand Classic players

Danielle Elliot

Many of the nation's top high school basketball players are in New York City this week to compete in the Jordan Brand Classic. It's the final stop of the long all-star tour for most of them. According to 2013 co-MVP Jabari Parker, it's also the best.

"They give you your space, they allow you to be free," Parker told Yahoo Sports. "They do so much for you before you head back to high school, head out to college. I appreciated that because a lot of all star games, they devalue your brand. The Jordan brand, they help allow that and enhance it."

Courtesy JBC
Courtesy JBC

The rosters feature many of the same names as the Nike Hoop Summit and the McDonald's All American Game. A few of the players were also at the Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals, dunk contests and other events.

The boys representing the East include Isaiah Briscoe (heading to Kentucky), Jaylen Brown (undecided), Jalen Brunson (Villanova), Thomas Bryant (Indiana), Jalen Coleman-Lands (Illinois), Eric Davis (Texas), Cheick Diallo (undecided), Henry Ellenson (Marquette), Luke Kennard (Duke), Skal Labiessiere (Kentucky), Charles Matthews (Kentucky), Malachi Richardson (Syracuse), Caleb Swanigan (Michigan State).

The boys West team features Dwayne Bacon (Florida State), Malik Beasley (Florida State), Antonio Blakeney (LSU), Deyonta Davis (Michigan State), Tyler Davis (Texas A&M), Tyler Dorsey (Oregon), Austin Grandstaff (Ohio State), Dedric Lawson (Memphis), Malik Newman (undecided), Ivan Rabb (California), Allonzo Trier (Arizona), Stephen Zimmerman (undecided).

For this final exhibition, the athletes arrived on Tuesday afternoon. They took a tour of the 9/11 Memorial,  collected plenty of Jordan gear, and then had free time until practices started on Wednesday afternoon.

Courtesy JBC
Courtesy JBC

Practices are at Terminal 23, a warehouse space near Madison Square Garden that the Jordan brand has turned into a custom gym, lockerrooms, and interview space. The facility is nicer than most college practice facilities – something that is definitely not lost on the atheltes.

"I think it prepared me more for the NBA [than college]," added Parker. "It’s a different stage, there's way more publicity, they treat you like a pro, where you don’t have many obligations. It's just going out, playing basketball and working on your craft. That’s what I loved so much about it."

Courtesy JBC
Courtesy JBC

The final stage in NBA-prep comes in the actual game, hosted Friday at Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. It all wraps up with a headline concert, this year featuring Nicki Minaj.

"They laid out the red carpet for us, as high schoolers we felt spoiled at the moment," Parker said.

It's the star treatment for the players, and a chance for the brand to start gaining loyalty before they ever sign a professional contract.

As good as the event might be, some of the nation's best are tired of the all star circuit by this point in the year. The nation's No. 1 senior, Ben Simmons, withdrew last week, citing the need to get back to high school studies.

For those who made the trip, Parker offered this advice:

"Take the knowledge, the lessons, the speakers that they have, people you can learn from, really take that because you seldom have that experience again. Some colleges might not have the resources to bring those people back in. It’s important to take hold of the opportunity."