Jahlil Okafor has always followed in Jabari Parker's footsteps. Now, with both having completed their dreams of making it to the NBA, they'll meet on the game's biggest stage for the first time tonight.
The last time the pair played against one another - March 8, 2013 - Parker's Simeon Wolverines knocked off Okafor's Whitney Young Dolphins, 69-51, in the IHSA 4A sectional. Parker, then a 17-year-old senior, scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the victory. Okafor, a junior making a name for himself on the national scene, scored 13 points in the season-ending loss.
Parker's Simeon teams met Okafor's Whitney Young squads six times in the three seasons the duo overlapped (2011-2013) in high school, with the elder Parker owning a 5-1 record against Okafor.