Chicago High School Basketball Star
KOSIK: Now for some more March madness, here's one player you won't see on the court this year, but next season, you may want to take note of Jabari Parker. He's a high school star destined for a college power house, Duke. Ted Rowlands is in Chicago and shows us why.</s>TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Chicago's notorious south side, 17-year old Jabari Parker is one of the best high school basketball players in the country and one of the nicest young men you'll ever meet.</s>JABARI PARKER, SIMEON H.S. BASKETBALL PLAYER: As long as I keep working and just keep on having a good humble attitude, I think that will take me a long way.</s>ROWLANDS: That attitude is what makes people so excited about Jabari Parker's future, including his coach at Simeon High School, Robert Smith, who also coached NBA star Derrick Rose.</s>ROBERT SMITH, SIMEON H.S. BASKETBALL COACH: It's his off the court stuff that I love. He's a caring kid. This is not about Jabari. This is about Simeon and it's about everybody else.</s>ROWLANDS: Jabari has been getting a lot of attention. He made the cover of "Sports Illustrated" last May. When he announced he was going to Duke, it was carried live on national television. The south side of Chicago is dangerous and has been for years. In January of this year, a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed after attending one of Simeon's games. Nearly 30 years ago, another Simeon all-star, Ben Wilson was shot and killed while walking down the street with his girlfriend. His number 25 still hangs on the wall at school.</s>PARKER: Sometimes I have been uncomfortable, but it's never been a moment of time where I have been totally unsafe because I have so many people on my back and help me get out of scuffles.</s>ROWLANDS: This season, Jabari led Simeon to a record fourth straight high school basketball title. He also excelled in class earning a 3.7 grade point average.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are truly blessed to have him.</s>ROWLANDS: Growing up, Jabari was the youngest of four children in a home where school and the family's Mormon faith came before basketball. He may play in the NBA some day, but his family expects him to graduate from Duke.</s>LOLA PARKER, JABARI PARKER'S MOTHER: That degree will be more precious to us than any millions that he'll make.</s>ROWLANDS: Jabari's dad Sonny played six seasons in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors. When he retired, he returned to Chicago to start a youth foundation helping at-risk kids.</s>J. PARKER: I know there's a lot of kids on the south side that lack parents or a two-parent home. I know I'm fortunate to have my dad aside of me. What he does in the community, it just helps me want to be like him when I grow up.</s>ROWLANDS: A lot of people are looking forward to Jabari growing up to see what he can do not just on the court, but off. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Chicago.</s>KOSIK: "CNN NEWSROOM" starts at the top of the hour. I'm here with Fredricka Whitfield. You got a busy show ahead.</s>FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oh yes, we've got a very busy day beginning with our legal guys with us every weekend. We love Avery and Richard. They are going to help tackle the case of the Jackson estate taking on in a civil matter the concert promoters AEG Live. They are alleging that AEG is culpable in the death of the pop star by way of being negligent in the hiring of Dr. Conrad Murray who is now serving time for the death of Michael Jackson. We'll talk to our legal guys about that. And then springtime, summer makes you think about getting the family together. How about a road trip? How about to the red rocks of - well, that's not the red rocks there. That looks like Hawaii. Isn't that gorgeous, Hawaii - road trip to Hawaii. Once you get there, rent a car. How about that? How about the red rocks of Utah or maybe even Washington State? And then a man who has kind of been called a godfather in the music industry. I'm talking about Clive Davis. He's credited for helping to catapult the careers of Alicia Keys, Janis Joplin.</s>KOSIK: Under a lot of controversy though.</s>WHITFIELD: Under a lot of controversy by way of revealing some personal things in his book, his memoir. It's called "The Sound Track of My Life." I talk about his sound track of his life by way of some of the high points and some of the low points and how he -- what are the qualities that he looks for when he taps a new star, when he recognizes somebody has that it thing. We talk about all that straight ahead.</s>KOSIK: Good stuff. You have gadgets. I've got gadgets. We all want to show off our gadgets no matter where they are. Wearable technology is the next big thing. I'm going to show you some new ways to stay connected. Keep it right here.