5 of College Basketball’s Best Freshmen as Child Stars
By Joe Nardone
Jabari Parker is Drew Barrymore
Dec 3, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Jabari Parker (1) reacts after scoring against the Michigan Wolverines at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Okay, please hold on before you cast judgement. This isn’t about gender, but career paths.
Jabari Parker is probably the most polished player in college basketball. I don’t know what that means for his future, if he goes onto NBA greatness or if he is a future All-What-If Team member. What I do know about him, though, is that he is really good at playing basketball at both ends of the floor. Well, at least at the college level, but it seems rational to think that his game will translate to the next level.
For some of you younger folks, I bet you didn’t know that Drew Barrymore was actually a child star. If it weren’t for Scream, Barrymore might have been nothing more than that, too. That’s not because of a lack of talent, though. Barrymore, like most child stars before, started drinking and doing drugs at a very early age. Eventually her shenanigans caught up to her and she was on a path to being a Lifetime Movie of the Week lifer.
The two of these people are (barely, sorta) similar because of their obvious talent. As in, no matter what obstacles are in Parker’s future, nothing is going to hold him back because of his other-worldly abilities. Let’s just hope never falls off, becomes any form of addict and never makes a romantic movie — well, unless it stars Christina Ricci (I <3 Christina Ricci).