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UNC loses top recruit Parker's much-delayed debut now canceled for good
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Jason Parker, a two-time North Carolina high school player of the year, will not attend North Carolina after the NCAA Clearinghouse disqualified his SAT score. Parker's qualifying SAT score in January had improved 45 percent over his previous high -- an improvement the NCAA questioned, said his father, Jesse Parker. Parker, of Charlotte, was one of the nation's top high school prospects in 1999 and signed with the Tar Heels. But he didn't qualify academically and instead attended Fork Union Military Academy, a prep school in Virginia. North Carolina coach Matt Doherty and former coach Bill Guthridge visited Parker's home in Charlotte on Monday night and said they were concerned about his son's eligibility, Jesse Parker told The Charlotte Observer. They worried Parker's ACT score -- which had a similar level of improvement to the SAT score -- would eventually be called into question, and they said Jason would not play for the Tar Heels, Jesse Parker said. Jesse Parker said his son took numerous SAT preparation classes and practice tests, making the jump in scores possible. "If a kid has taken a test as many times as he has taken it and been prepped for it all year, it's possible," Jesse Parker said. "My son's not a cheat. He earned that score. He had agreed to go to prep school to increase his scores in the first place." Scoring jumps like Parker's are rare, said Kelley Hayden, principal associate for media relations for the ACT. Hayden said both his organization and the SAT question large jumps because studies show such increases are rare. Parker was given three options late last month, his father said, when the NCAA informed the Parkers that the SAT score was being called into question. Jason Parker could retake the test, explain the jump to SAT official, or have his score dropped. Jesse Parker said Guthridge suggested Jason retake the test. "He flew up (to Fork Union)," Jesse Parker said. "But he was in the middle of summer, having a good time. He wasn't thinking about taking the test. It was unfair to him." Jason Parker's score on that test was not high enough to meet NCAA standards, his father said. NCAA Division I schools determine eligibility by using a sliding scale that takes into account grade-point average and scores on the ACT or SAT. Jesse Parker said North Carolina faxed his son's release from his national letter of intent Tuesday, along with the letter from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. North Carolina, citing the Family Rights and Privacy Act, would not explain why Parker was denied admission. Jesse Parker said the family called the clearinghouse, which determines athletes' initial eligibility, Monday and confirmed Jason's highest ACT score still made him eligible under NCAA guidelines.
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