Schools
Amile Jefferson Headed to Kentucky…for All-Star Tournament
Pennsylvania's Gatorade Player of the Year continues to collect awards.
The will continue tomorrow, but this time he’s taking a friend with him.
The standout and two-time ESPN/Gatorade Pennsylvania Boys Player of the Year will head to Kentucky next, where he’ll be coached by Phoenix head coach Jason Polykoff in the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic from April 4 through 7.
"I'm extremely proud of Amile for receiving this terrific honor yet again," Polykoff said of Jefferson's Player of the Year selection, and the laundry list of other accolades he’s received.
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"He's a great player, a wonderful student, and an even better person. The boys' basketball team, Friends' Central, and Pennsylvania have an outstanding representative for their player of the year."
The Kentucky Derby exhibition, now in its 30th year, draws some of the best prep basketball talent in the country. Past participants include NBA All-Stars Jamal Mashburn, Moses Malone, Rex Chapman, Pervis Ellison, Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, Darrell Griffith, Derek Anderson, Anfernee Hardaway and Michael Beasley.
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Jefferson looks poised to someday join them. The 6’8” forward was awarded the Gatorade Player of the Year honors on March 22 after leading Friends to a 21-5 record and the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Championship.
“Amile Jefferson has great touch, feel, body control and an uncanny ability to score in the paint,” Paul Biancardi, the National Director of ESPN Basketball Recruiting, told ESPN.com in March. “He’s a guy who can rebound out of his area, block shots and always plays with good energy.”
The number 18 recruit in the country, by the reckoning of ESPNU, averaged 19.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game this season and scored eight points to go along with a pair of steals in the uber-prestigious March 28 McDonalds’ All-American Game.
"It [was] one of the most special honors I've ever received in my life," Jefferson said of his selection to play in the game Lebron James was the MVP of nine years ago.
"I wouldn't have accomplished this if it wasn't for the tremendous support I've had from my teammates and Coach Polykoff, and the great work ethic the people at Friends' Central School instilled in me.”
Jefferson is yet to decide where he'll play next winter.
