McDonald's All-American power forward (ranked No. 3 by Scout.com) Amile Jefferson (Wynnewood, PA/Friends' Central) picked Duke University on Tuesday during a live press conference.
Jefferson (6-7, 190) had offers from Duke, N.C. State, Kentucky, Ohio State and Villanova. He said his mind was made up about Duke "a couple of days ago." N.C. State was his runner-up (via Adam Zagoria's Twitter).
Jefferson was confident he could fill a role for the Blue Devils that no one else on their current roster can. "Right now I don't think they have a player at my position. I don't think they have a guy like me." Jefferson also said that Duke provided a good combination of academics and athletics.
Jefferson's high school coach said that Jefferson possesses an all-around skill at the forward position and doesn't need to solely be placed in the low block area.
"He's more comfortable with his back to the basket but he has the ability to take the ball to the high post or go to the perimeter and play the '3,' " Friends' Central coach Jason Polykoff said. (via News Observer)
The five-star forward averaged 20.2 points per game, 10.2 rebounds per game and 2.7 blocks per game in high school.