Watching Parker Jackson-Cartwright run the point guard position on the basketball court is like watching a composer direct his orchestra. In other words, it's a beautiful thing to observe.
 
And that comparison makes a lot of sense considering Jackson-Cartwright's family history and background. Born in Valley Glen, California to Ramon and Belinda Jackson-Cartwright, Parker was brought into a musical home.
 
His sister, Briana, is a singer, who goes by the name of JCK DVY, and both of his parents never went a night without the stereo pumping out music. In fact, Parker, and his brother Miles, were both named after famous jazz musicians. Parker was named after Charlie Parker, while his brother's namesake is Miles Davis.
 
Music and the Jackson-Cartwrights go together like Arizona and basketball.
 
But when it came time to choose between pursuing music or basketball when Jackson-Cartwright was in middle school, Arizona's future point guard knew exactly what lane he wanted to be in.
 
"I'm very intrigued with making music, and using my voice for different things and writing music," Jackson-Cartwright said. "I see that with my sister, and how she does that. It's very cool. But basketball is a bigger passion, obviously. It wasn't a choice."
 
Jackson-Cartwright started playing basketball because Myles did and little brother wanted to be just like big brother. His dad taught him that size doesn't matter on a basketball course as long as "you stay true to who you are and always play hard." So Parker played. And played. And played.
 
By the time he was a freshman in high school, he was the California State Freshman of the Year and was blossoming into a college prospect. By his sophomore year, Arizona offered Jackson-Cartwright a scholarship and he was instantly intrigued. He played his AAU ball for former Wildcat great Miles Simon, who has his number hanging from the McKale Center rafters, and always enjoyed hearing Simon's stories about the Wildcats.
 
Jackson-Cartwright took several visits to Tucson over the final three years of his high school career until he was positive he wanted to play his college ball at Arizona.
 
When he arrived for his freshman season in 2014-15, Arizona was set at point guard with T.J. McConnell, and they appeared to be set for the future with Junior College Player of the Year Kadeem Allen redshirting his first season in Tucson.
 
But Jackson-Cartwright never got fazed by what was in front of him. Instead, he decided to learn from the point guards who had already earned the trust of coach Sean Miller. He played 9.6 minutes per game as a freshman, averaging 2.9 points per game, but made the year worthwhile from what he learned from McConnell.
 
"T.J., taught me to compete, every minute, every second of the day," Jackson-Cartwright said. "Whatever you do, play with that chip on your shoulder. I think just competing against him in practice. I just felt like he was so much farther along. His mind, his body, the way he played. He really helped me by attacking me every day. He taught me how to be a professional."
 
His sophomore season, Jackson-Cartwright saw his minutes increase to 21.2 and he averaged 5.2 points per game, while leading the Pac-12 in three-point field goal percentage in league play at 48.6 percent. He worked well with Allen, who at times played next to Jackson-Cartwright as a shooting guard. As a junior in 2016-17, Jackson Cartwright played 24.9 minutes per game, averaged 5.9 points per game and set a career-high in assists with 127 in 31 games.
 
"I can't say enough about Kadeem," Jackson-Cartwright said. "His leadership skills, the way he plays. He never took a day off. He never took a play off. That has helped me be a better leader and teammate."
 
Now as he prepares to open his senior season, there is no McConnell or Allen. No Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or Gabe York. It's his show. It's his turn to teach Alex Barcello and Arizona's young guards the way of the Pac-12 the way McConnell and Allen did for him.
 
"I try to make them better on a daily basis," Jackson-Cartwright said of working with the younger guards. "I think they need that for me to be at my best. Everyone needs that for each other. That's how you build team comradery. I think, four years now, I've seen a lot, bad and good. I've learned a lot and with how much I know, now I can give back and teach and tell them what to do and what not to do. That's what I'm most excited about this year."