Starring in Carmelo Anthony's house, Duke freshman forward Jabari Parker assured Slam Magazine he takes all comparisons to the New York Knicks star as a grand compliment.

Parker thrilled a Madison Square Garden crowd with a 23-point, 10 rebound, and five assist performance against UCLA in the Blue Devils' 80-63 win Thursday night and afterwards told reporters "yeah, it's a good comparison."

Parker later added of Anthony "he mastered the fundamentals. He's always good at his craft. He works on it and that's a person I've been looking up to, so yeah, that's a good compliment."

With a crowd that included Bruce Springsteen, Tyson Chandler and Tim Hardaway Jr., looking on, UCLA coach Steve Alford was among those far more mesmerized by what he was seeing on the hardwood.

"I know we're in New York City, but there's a lot of Melo in him as far as guy that can stretch you to the 3-point line. He can drive the basketball. He creates space off the dribble to get jump shots. He can take you to the post, so I just think he's a very, very talented, gifted player. And you don't see a lot who are this polished 10, 11 games into their freshmen year."