Dennis Parker Jr. has decided to take his talents from the capital of Virginia to the capital of North Carolina.

The versatile 6-foot-6 John Marshall High School senior announced Oct. 26 he is headed to North Carolina State in Raleigh, starting with the 2023-24 season.

Georgetown and Oklahoma State were the others in Parker’s “Final Three” choices. VCU, Texas A&M and Kansas also were among his many additional suitors.

“Dennis is a great person coming from a great family – and he works his butt off,” said JM Coach Ty White.

“He has major upside. Don’t be surprised if he’s shaking hands with the (NBA) Commissioner in a few years.”

Parker averaged 20 points and seven rebounds a season ago, leading JM to its fourth state title since 2014. The Jus- tices would have been heavily favored for a fifth in 2021 had it not been for the cancellation of the season.

The son of Dennis Sr. (former JM football player) and Andrea, Parker also is the godson of Milton Bell, the 1988 Metro Player of Year for JM.

After breaking into Coach White’s first five as a freshman, Parker now sees what could be another state title run this winter.

Among the returnees are dynamic junior guard Damon “Lil’ Redd” Thompson and Dominique Bailey. Promising JV graduates include 6-foot-6 Keon Hill and guard Amari McCall.

On the debit side, 6-foot-10 Tyler Ma- son has transferred to a school in Minnesota, and 6-foot-5 All- Metro Steve Stinson has transferred to Class 4 state champ Varina.

JM went 22-4 last season, finishing with a flourish. The Justices won their six Class 2 playoff games by an average of 38 points.

Coach White’s strategy each season is to play a back-breaking early schedule against national level teams. He believes the early challenges prime his Justices for the more local and state competition.”

This go-round, JM is entered in the Chick-Fil-A Classic in Lexington, S.C., along with the likes of IMG Academy of Florida, Oak Hill, Va., and Southern Cal Academy.

Also, JM will be playing in the MLK/Kevin Durant tournament in Northern Virginia. Games are also set against DeMatha, Md., as well as Millbrook and Highlands of North Carolina.

Parker, the 2022 Metro Player of the Year, was runner up to Rockbridge’s Tyler Nickel last year for State Class 2 Player of the Year. Nickel is now a freshman player at North Carolina.

In choosing N.C. State, Parker looked past the recent record under fifth-year Coach Kevin Keatts. The Wolfpack was 11-21 last season and 4-16 in ACC. N.C. State won NCAA national titles in 1974 and ’83.

Parker is not the first city standout to choose N.C. State. From Maggie Walker High, Clyde Austin played for the Wolfpack 1976 to ’80. He aver- aged 12 points and four assists for his 115-game career.