Chicago Simeon held a media day last week with local and national media in attendance. The Wolverines, led by Jabari Parker, are ranked No. 1 in the country by ESPN and No. 4 by USA Today.

“We didn’t want to start No. 1, we wanted to finish No. 1 [in the nation],” Simeon coach Robert Smith said. “That’s real important. That’s our goal.”

Parker, who is just a junior, is considered by many to be the best player in the country.

“Jabari wants to be the best basketball player ever,” Smith said. “Not just one of the best out of Illinois. He wants to be one of the best professional basketball players ever.”

“We have some of the top talent in the city of Chicago,” Parker said. “To have this at one school is very rare. We’re the No. 1 team in the country. The rankings pretty much speak for themselves.”