2013-14
Jabari and the Heartbreak. The most talented freshman since Kyrie Irving arrives alongside Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood, and for stretches they look like the best one-two punch in college basketball. Parker averages 19.1 and 8.7, earns ACC Rookie of the Year and consensus All-American honors, and drops 30 and 11 on UNC. Hood shoots 54% and 42% from three. K gets his 900th win at Duke. But the defense is porous all season, Duke falls from the AP top 10 for the first time in 122 weeks, and in the NCAA Tournament, a veteran Mercer squad shoots 56% and closes on an 18-8 run to deliver one of the most stunning upsets of the K era. Parker finishes with 14 on 4-of-14 shooting and four turnovers. He declares for the NBA Draft and goes #2 overall. Hood goes #23. The season that had everything except March.