Amile Jefferson to….Duke (rumors & analysis) [Updated at 5:05pm]

It is a sad day for NC State as Wynnewood (Pa.) Friends’ Central’s Amile Jefferson pulled a fast one and this afternoon publicly announced his intentions to attend Duke University this afternoon. Rivals.com ranks Jefferson as the #7 power forward and #36 overall player in the class of 2012. He holds similar rankings between #20 and #40 on most lists.

Some well-placed ‘rumors’ had indicated that – after telling some members of the Wolfpack basketball team that he was joining them in Raleigh – Jefferson had told NC State’s coaches as recently as FRIDAY that he was announcing for NC State. Such a move would’ve validated the coaching staff’s ‘gamble’ to appease Jefferson and forego the addition of talented JUCO forward, Andrew Young (heading to Texas A&M) last month. Jefferson’s importance to the NC State grew in recent weeks after DeShawn Painter and Tyler Harris decided to transfer out of Raleigh and resulting in a much more thin front court than was previously projected.

It has been speculated by many close to the recruitment that Amile’s father had a huge hard on for Coach K; this blind love of Coach K could end up with a very sad twist of fate for Dad & Amile if some of the rumors about K’s potential impending retirement after next season end up coming true. Throughout the process, the mother wanted Amile to be close to home, but ultimately wanted what was best for Amile. She was quoted after the press conference as saying that she did not know that he was going to choose Duke; and someone posted on Twitter that “it was awkward when she had to put the State hat back in her purse.”

NC State’s current and projected roster is included below. Jefferson’s impact was more important to NC State AFTER the 2012-2013 season. The use of his scholarship in the current freshman class along with having a talented, experienced sophomore ready to start in 2013-2014 would have been a very important stabilizing factor in the program. Coach Gottfried’s Wolfpack now only has nine scholarship players available for the 2012-2013 season and is facing a challenging scholarship disbursement with a large number of six or seven available scholarships for the next recruiting class.

Senior Class
(1) Scott Wood (Wing)
(2) Richard Howell (PF)

Junior Class
(3) CJ Leslie (PF)
(4) Lorenzo Brown (PG/SG)
(5) Jordan Vandenberg (C) (Redshirt)

Sophomore Class
(6) Thomas de Thaey (PF)
(7) Ralston Turner (Wing) – transfer from LSU sits out 2012-2103

2012 Commits
(8) Tyler Lewis (PG)
(9) Rodney Purvis (PG/SG)
(10) TJ Warren (F)

2013 Commits
(11) Open
(12) Open – center target
(13) Open – wing target
(1) Departure of Scott Wood
(2) Departure of Richard Howell
(3) Projected departure of CJ Leslie
(4) Potential departure of Lorenzo Brown

Although not a post player, it may be worth the time to pay some attention to Mississippi State transfer, Rodney Hood (Link)

Hood, who averaged 10.3 points per game while starting 29 of Mississippi State’s 33 games this past season, has decided to leave the Mississippi State program according to new head men’s basketball coach Rick Ray.

Hood was a 5-star prospect in high school and one of the top rated swing men in the country….and, like recent transfer addition, Ralston Turner, Hood was recruited by Coach Gottfried at Alabama. If NC State could find a way to land Hood, the Wolfpack would (1) elevate our athleticism and talent; (2) balance our scholarship spacing; and (3) have enough talent on the roster to be in a position in the front court to slot TJ Warren into the important high post role in the Wolfpack’s offense (if that was the right fit).

While you are here at SFN, we would ask that you spend some time reading some of our recent original coverage of the UNC academic fraud scandal as well as the Wolfpack’s basketball addition yesterday, Ralston Turner. Additionally, our message forums (linked here) always have dozens of great conversations for you.

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62 Responses to Amile Jefferson to….Duke (rumors & analysis) [Updated at 5:05pm]

  1. GAWolf 05/15/2012 at 7:23 PM #

    Meh. Good luck, kid. I wish him well. If, and there’s a big if, he was a problem case, we have too many positive things going on than to bring him in an upset our positive momentum.

    I do wish, however, that we had not passed on so many guys going after a kid who obviously couldn’t make up his mind. Hopefully our staff will ahve learned an important, but costly, lesson.

  2. Lunatic Fringe 05/15/2012 at 7:28 PM #

    Hey kids choose to go other places all the time so I will get over that part. I still think he made a bad decision going to Duke from a development point of view…just look at the stiffs they have at Duke now (as bigs).

    The real question is who will be at Duke longer now…AJ or K.

  3. logarithm 05/15/2012 at 7:42 PM #

    We can very possibly land Randle and/or Meeks in 2013. With the Purvis connection to Randle, along with showing what a hyper-athletic PF can do in Leslie, and the Lutz connection to Meeks, along with showing him what we can do with a slightly short, brawny, rebounding PF who had to drop weight to be really competitive in Howell, I like how we’re looking for the 2013 class.

  4. tuckerdorm1983 05/15/2012 at 7:46 PM #

    onward and upward. “forget about it”

  5. vtpackfan 05/15/2012 at 7:47 PM #

    Has got Lance Thomas written all over him.

  6. LifeLongWolf 05/15/2012 at 7:51 PM #

    I wish AJ all the best, except when we play Dook.

    If we had landed him, I would’ve been very afraid. NC State Sh!t, people. Don’t forget about it. It’s good that we got this bad thing out of the way now. That way we have room for some more good stuff.

  7. Sweet jumper 05/15/2012 at 8:01 PM #

    Good luck Amile. I hope you like to set picks, rebound and throw the ball out to the three-point shooters. That’s the K way.

  8. choppack1 05/15/2012 at 8:02 PM #

    As chuck amato said “that’s life in the fast lane.”

    The good news is that when you are competing with duke for recruits, you aren’t usually going after poor students, and you are going after hard workers.

    The article is spot on in that Jefferson was more important for next year, and I’d add more important as a symbol that we could go after and get a kid one of the blues wanted very badly.

    There is a fine line between being a poor loser and objective analysis when you mention that a courtship like this is a red flag. I think that statement is spot on but if he chose us, we’d be happy as hell and rightly so.

  9. ryebread 05/15/2012 at 8:26 PM #

    I felt like it was State vs. Duke for Amile for a long time, with dad preferring Duke. Given the media love and exposure that Duke gets, it’d be hard not to — even with their spotty track record with big men. I felt like our best shot was immediately after the McDonald’s game, and when we didn’t get him, we probably weren’t.

    This is a loss for us. AJ would have added depth this year, but he’d have probably started next year. I hope we are out recruiting hard.

  10. StandUpAndHowl 05/15/2012 at 8:32 PM #

    Whether we got him or not de Thaey or Vandenberg were going to have to step up. Now we need both to step up.

  11. MrPlywood 05/15/2012 at 8:34 PM #

    I have to admit, I bought into the AmileWatch. The Pack’s best sales pitch now will be how the team progresses next year and how the 3 AA’s are worked in. The kid I want is the one who knows he’s going to get a fair shot, but that he also knows he’ll have to work.

    re: the rumors – who knows. it would be disappointing if they were confirmed, but if there was that much dissension don to the last minute State would probably be better off without. But like someone said earlier, that’s a big “if”.

  12. Prowling Woofie 05/15/2012 at 8:39 PM #

    If a week playing with our recruits at the Mickie D game didn’t convince him, he wasn’t coming.

    Good luck to you in Durham, Amile. Set picks, grab rebounds, flop like a fish. Make Daddy happy…

  13. wilmwolf80 05/15/2012 at 8:54 PM #

    I don’t wish any pain or malice to the young man, but I’m not going to wish him good luck. He chose to go to a bitter rival. As of four o’clock this afternoon, he is now the enemy. Prepare to get booed kid.

  14. swamppack 05/15/2012 at 9:34 PM #

    At first, a big let-down, then I quickly began to be thankful for what we do have.

    A) A coach who can lead.
    B) Calvin coming back along with the rest of the great experienced players.
    C) A sweet 16 finish last season.
    D) Too much more to list!!!

    Don’t get me wrong, I was high on the possibilities but it just was not meant to be. Go Pack

  15. coach13 05/15/2012 at 9:40 PM #

    I hope he ends up being a square peg in a round hole with them.

  16. ncsu1987 05/15/2012 at 9:51 PM #

    I don’t get this choice. In many cases I understand the draw of Duke. Legendary coach, outstanding academics, blah, blah. But given K’s clear preference for development of guards at the expense of the big guys, seems less clear. And from an academic standpoint, why does he care? There’s a large consensus that he’s not a 4-year guy, so why would that factor so heavily? Something doesn’t add up.

    On the other hand, I had a really bad day at work, so I may be the one who isn’t thinking straight…

  17. mak4dpak 05/15/2012 at 10:07 PM #

    So he chose Duke, time to forget him, sounds like he thought a little too highly, stating Duke will be better with him, and then to gain all this attention by holding out to the end. Sounds like he would have screwed up our chemistry. So let Duke deal with him. I am looking forward to our current players, and incoming freshmen putting a great team on the floor.

  18. Warrior4NCSU 05/15/2012 at 10:27 PM #

    Let’s hope Coach Gott puts his magic to work with Montrezl Harrell, since he is back in the mix.

  19. blpack 05/15/2012 at 10:43 PM #

    Best of luck to him. We will win without him and relentlessly pursue ’13 recruits.

  20. wolfonthehill 05/16/2012 at 5:56 AM #

    Never felt like he was coming here… don’t know why, but these aren’t the guys we land. VERY concerned about frontcourt depth in 2012-13… it will cost us 5+ games.

  21. 1.21 Jigawatts 05/16/2012 at 6:47 AM #

    I know PP isn’t the end all be all for recruiting but just looking at 2013 recruits over 6-6 there are only 2 players we’ve shown interest in that haven’t committed already.

    Both are 6-8/255
    1. BeeJay Anya (5 Star) Hyattsville, MD
    2. Kennedy Meeks (4 Star) Charlotte, NC

    That’s it. So there better be other worthy players out there to grab in addition to getting at least 1 of these guys, preferably both, to add numbers to our front court. Otherwise we are a VERY small team. Here’s where the staff will have to work some magic and step it up themselves.

  22. haze 05/16/2012 at 7:02 AM #

    I thought we’d get him… pretty disappointed yesterday.

    Primary implication is that our frontcourt quality for the 13-14 season is now a complete unknown. There are possibilities (Vandy/TDT/Warren) and coming surprises (recruits, xfers) but no clear answers. That’s a concern.

    Will be watching Vandy very closely at the 5 and TDT/Warren at the 4. We have flexibility in our lineups (i.e. play small) but we’ll really need ownership from these guys at the 4-5 positions going into 13-14.

    Upside is that this O will score A LOT from the post in 12-13 and we will have a ton of time to sell to recruits (dream being Randle). I think it pretty likely that we land a stud or two.

  23. Lunatic Fringe 05/16/2012 at 8:01 AM #

    “But given K’s clear preference for development of guards at the expense of the big guys, seems less clear. And from an academic standpoint, why does he care? There’s a large consensus that he’s not a 4-year guy, so why would that factor so heavily?”

    The history of their program in the last 15 years with “bigs” leads me to believe he will be a 4-year guy at Duke. Any chance he had a leaving early for NBA left when he chose Duke as his school. It also means that he will likely go through a coaching change during his college career.

    I am not sure what K is telling these kids, but I just don’t see how he will be at Duke for 4 more years.

  24. haze 05/16/2012 at 8:09 AM #

    ^ Choosing Duke over State is complicated for a kid like Amile.

    State’s offense is better for his development and his ability to showcase for the NBA. Even PT is better here. Problem is that the comparison doesn’t stop there.

    Mainly, State is also only entering year 2 with Gott. As such, Duke is the conservative and data-based choice if you want to assure that you’re on a winning and NC contending team. They win, pretty much always… we’re unproven. Then there’s K, who is the most distinguished coach in college ball and it’s really not close right now. Just playing for that guy is going to have benefits, potentially in life as well as bball. K is a legend. Gott, much as we love him, is merely a good coach who might be a legend in a decade or two. Big difference.

  25. tdouble 05/16/2012 at 8:13 AM #

    The NCSU fans were in fine form yesterday on Twitter after his announcement.

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