While the Northeast section of the country is socked in with the horrid snowfalls of this week, and Southeastern Pennsylvania high school basketball has been put on ice until everything thaws, there has been one player who continues to be hot, and that’s Friends' Central's Amile Jefferson.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore forward is averaging a double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds a game, and is among the top sophomores in Pennsylvania. He’s someone who bears watching. He’s already received offers from West Virginia, Penn State and Temple. Expect that list to grow, especially if Jefferson continues the way he’s been progressing this season.
He’s made a major step up since his freshman year, when he came off the bench for the Phoenix, which plays in Philadelphia’s Friends League and is not a PIAA-affiliated league. Yet that hasn’t deterred Jefferson nor Friends Central from facing the best teams in the area, like Academy of the New Church, against which Jefferson scored 11 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out seven assists in a 71-64 victory over ANC on Feb. 9, just before the second major snowball hit in the Delaware Valley area.
Jefferson has stretched his game out, using his versatility to exploit mismatches. If someone is too small to cover him, he’ll post them up, but he’d rather extend an opposing defender out on the wing. It’s where Jefferson has become much more dangerous, nailing 3-pointers more consistently than he has in the past.
In fact, every part of his game has improved. He has a better handle, he’s more aggressive under the boards, more vocal on the court and now emerging as a go-to player in crucial situations.
"I’m just trying to do everything I can for us to win," said Jefferson, an honor-roll student at the high academic-challenging school. "I’m being asked to play more with my back to the basket this year, and finding open teammates. I’m rebounding more this year. But with my AAU team, they count on me to score, rebound, to handle the ball, to do a lot more."
Jefferson was always tall for his age, though his coordination didn’t catch up to his size until two years ago. Jefferson laughs and says that’s something to be continued.
"I work on my footwork, and I know I have pretty good footwork, but I’m still learning and getting used to being 6-8," Jefferson said. "I was always kind of tall, and people would tell me that I got kind of taller since they last saw me. I just have to keep in mind how to use the size and still do the fundamental things. I’m tall, but I’m skinny, and I’m learning to stay with the fundamentals against older guys who might be 30, 40 pounds heavier than me. On the next level, everyone is athletic and you have to find something to put you over the hump."
This summer will be an important time in Jefferson’s development. He’s looking to grow more as a player, and will look to go back to Duke University’s camp this summer, along with attending camps at Syracuse, St. Joseph’s and Penn State. He wasn’t home for more than three weeks last summer. This summer, it probably will be even less.
"I try not to think about college and where I’m going," Jefferson said. "My father, Malcolm Musgrove, and my coach, Jason Polykoff, at Friends' Central, they take care of the college situation. My goal is to keep improving every day. It’s still early. One day you’re high on some lists, and the next day you’re not. You don’t want to get wrapped around that. The recruiting will take care of itself. I’ll probably sit down and look at my college situation this summer."
The Philadelphia region has been hit with a record snowfall this winter. But Jefferson has continued to be hot, and if his learning curve keeps soaring upward, expect things to get hotter for Jefferson this summer.
"It will definitely be a harder summer," Jefferson said. "That’s OK. A challenge is always OK."
DISTRICT 1 PLAYOFFS ABOUT TO BEGIN
The PIAA District 1 playoffs will begin — hopefully, weather permitting — next week. Going into the final week of the regular season, Plymouth Whitemarsh holds the No. 1 seed, followed by Penn Wood, Souderton and Coatesville. Seeding in basketball is based on a points system.
What needs to be noted is that District 1 has produced four of the last five Class AAAA (large school) state champions (Penn Wood in 2009, Chester in 2008, Lower Merion in 2006, Chester in 2005) and six state champions this decade (Chester in 2000 and Coatesville in 2001).
Southeastern Pennsylvania is by far the most competitive region in the state when it comes to basketball—responsible for all four boys’ state champions last year (Penn Wood in Class AAAA, Archbishop Carroll in Class AAA, Imhotep Charter in Class AA and Girard College in Class A), and one state title on the girls’ side (Archbishop Carroll in Class AAA).
Joseph Santoliquito covers high schools for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at
