FORT WAYNE, Indiana - Amile Jefferson is a nearly 6'8" sophomore forward from the Philadelphia area. This past season he scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in leading Friends Central to the Independent Schools State Title over Germantown Academy, 72-52. He was the only sophomore named to the first-team All-State team for the AA Class. At this past weekend's Speice Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jefferson opted to compete with the oldest age group and performed quite well for his Team Philly AAU program. After the initial game, Amile spoke with Blue Devil Nation about his state title, the latest in his recruitment, his impression of Duke and Coach Krzyzewski from his time spent at their Elite Camp, small forwards in the 2012 class, and the best cheese steak in Philadelphia.

Why don't we start with the championship game against Germantown? Talk about the win and also your performance. You obviously had a great game. Given the context, was it your best game to date?

(laughs) Yeah, it was a really good game, but, no, it wasn't my best. It was definitely a big win and I was happy we got that for our seniors. We had a great group of seniors and for those guys to leave on such a high note, instead of a loss, was such a big thing. Then, you know, for our last game, to be able to play at such a high level, it was definitely up there.

And they are always competitive.

Yeah, GA is always very good. So it was great to be able to beat them in the championship.

When I watched you in December in the Bronx, you were essentially the third or fourth option on offense. What happened between late December and March? Did they recognize that they needed to utilize you more or did you step up your game?

Well, I think I needed to establish more of a dominant role on the team for us [private] to be successful. By the end of the year, I think I, kind of, was starting to take off and not taking a back seat to anyone. We all needed to support one another and be able to step up if one of us wasn't playing well.

It was obviously a senior-laden team and one with several guys who are going to play at the D-One level. What do you feel you learned from the upperclassmen?

I picked up a lot. Guys like Terry Robinson...he's an absolute gym rat. Dominic Morris..

He's huge.

Yeah, he's huge and he always wants to get better. He wanted to work on his jump shot and make it consistent this season. I think I mostly learned about the need to consistently put in work to improve and not get satisfied.

Now, the word or, well, rumor is that you may be looking to transfer after this season. Do you want to comment on the record on the rumor?

(laughs) Well, let's just say that, right now, it's just a rumor.

Alright, well, let's move onto recruiting. What's the latest in your recruitment?

I'm wide open, but I have been looking at schools. After this school year is over, I'm going to sit down and look at the different schools that are recruiting me.

Do you have any hard offers at this point? If so, which schools?

West Virginia's offered, Penn State has offered, Wake Forest, Temple, and some others at this point.

Well, you're still a sophomore. I'm sure there are a lot of others that have expressed interest.

Oh, yes.

Now, you're around 6'8," but athletic. Do you prefer to play the three or the four? What are most schools recruiting you as?

Well, I like to play whatever my team needs. If the defender is really small, I like to take my man on the block. If it's a big guy or someone who's about my height, I'd like to take him on the wing. I guess I really like to play the three because it gives you more of an option of being able to play either out on the wing or down on the block.

Where do you like to catch the ball?

I like to catch it right outside of the paint or..

I thought you liked to catch it right outside of the paint, near the baseline.

Oh, that baseline area is like my favorite. You've got a lot of room to operate and you can still hit that mid-range jumper

You hit a few floaters over your man on the baseline tonight. Is that your go-to move at this point?

Yeah, it probably is.

I was wondering before if anyone is recruiting you as a step-out four. How tall are you now?

I'm 6'8."

And how much do you weight now?

Somewhere between 185 and 190.

Have you taken any visits yet? Do you have any planned?

No, I haven't taken any formal visits yet, but I did visit Duke's campus last summer. That one was great, but short. I don't have planned right now, though.

Alright. I'd like to get back to that in a moment, but how do you compare yourself to other threes in the class? Although there are a couple of quality bigs, the wings, particularly the depth of the wings, really stand out in your class.

We've got a very deep class of threes. I think we can all bring a little something different to the table. I just try to keep getting better and not worry about how I necessarily compare myself to the others, but I'm definitely aware of some the others.

Do you know where you'll be going to camp this year? NBA? LeBron?

Well, I just went to Adidas Nations in Florida a couple of weeks ago.

Right, I heard about you heading down to Orlando.

Yeah, exactly, that was fun.  I'm not sure of exactly where I'll be heading, but I know I'm going to be very busy this summer. (laughs)

Yeah, sure, now I know your father comes up quite a bit. Will he be the primary person that you will be turning to for guidance, whenever you do decide on a college?

Yes, he and my AAU coach, Cedric Jones. Those will be the two guys that I'll be turning to for guidance. They both have my interests at heart.

Well, when I saw him wearing that Nova shirt on the sidelines, I didn't know if that was a signal. I thought that maybe he was gonna kill  my article and also what the hell am I doing in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

(Laughs hard) No, don't worry about that.

Now, I know that, like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, your dad is from West Philadelphia and went to West Philly high school. How did he feel about you going to Friends?

Oh, well, we went to Friends because they have great academics and it was only a blessing that they were able to get some of those seniors like Dominic and Robinson. I went there for the quality academics  and it only happened to become good at basketball. We didn't even know that those guys were coming. It's been great to be able to combine the benefits of great academics with now championship basketball.

Now, that hits on another topic I wanted to get your take on. Clearly, you've been able to fuse quality academics and basketball on the high school level. Will that be what you're looking for at the college level? What are some other things that you'll be looking for?

I'm really going to be looking for very similar things. I like getting the best of both worlds, but we really haven't even begun to discuss recruiting or what exactly I'll be looking for. I've been trying to hold off on making any decisions on my recruitment.

I wasn't trying put you on the spot. As you know, it's just relatively unusual that an excellent basketball player goes to a strong, academically challenging high school.

(laughs) No, I know. I know. No problem.

So that fans can check you out, do you know where your next AAU event is?

Um, probably either the Southern or

Where is that one now? Atlanta?

No, I think at the Boo Williams Complex.  If not that one, then definitely the Bob Gibbons in late May.

Speaking of the Triangle area and going back to  a prior answer, what was the Duke Elite Camp like last summer? You're obviously on their radar. Talk a little bit about your experience down there.

Well, I believe it was their first camp. I was really happy to be asked and loved the time that I had down there. I loved seeing the beautiful campus and where they get to play. We got to see a little of their new facilities, but I think we only played on where they get to play.

Cameron?

Yeah, exactly.

What was your impression of the school?

Well, I didn't really get to see much of the school because we had such a short time there, but I did get to see a lot of the basketball facilities and stuff like that. I was really only there for about a day, but I got to see their facilities and eat dinner with Coach K. We got to talk about the Olympic team. He was just a good guy. It was a real honor personally to be in his presence for any amount of time.  The whole experience I considered to be just a blessing.

One guy from your area that I was hoping to see with you was Savon Goodman. Are you guys looking to go to college together? Have you talked about it at all?

Right now, we play in the same league. We sometimes play with each other in the Sixteens, but, most of the time, we don't. This weekend, I'm playing up with the Seventeens.

Speaking of that, how do you feel about playing up with the Seventeens? I'm not sure if you know Quinn Cook, but he's a point guard on DC Assault. He was saying that he noticed a major difference between the two and that the players were much more physically mature and faster. It's got to make you better long-term.

Yeah, absolutely, there is just such a difference between the two. Guys are so much stronger, wiser, and more physical. Everyone is athletic and so you have to adjust and be able to box out and use the talents that you already have to your advantage. You have to play hard at all times because everybody is just bigger and stronger.

What's your biggest weakness right now?

I'd say getting lift on my jump shot. I'd say right now it frankly works because I'm bigger than the guy guarding me, but, long-term, I want to work on adding more lift to my jumper.

And what's your biggest strength? What makes you most dangerous?

In the post, I've got a lot of moves and, at this point, I can take my man in a variety of directions. I can also take a bigger defender off the dribble from the wing.

Versatility?

Yeah, my versatility.

Away from the court, what would you like the audience to know about you?

I'd like them to know that I'm a good guy.

Do you watch a lot of college basketball?

Yeah, I do. I watch a lot definitely.

Lastly, Pat's or Geno's?

(Laughs hard) Steaks?

C'mon, I know it's always an important issue in Philly.

(laughs) I can't say.

Alright, I understand if it's too political.

(Jefferson laughs. His AAU coach, Cedric Jones, comes in and answers Ishkabibble's and says that Geno's is overrated) Alright, I'm going to go with Ishkabibble's. They're great.

I'll have to check it out. Thanks a lot, fellas, for sticking around and we'll be keeping an eye out for you.

Thanks for interviewing me. [/private]