Arizona signee Rondae Jefferson adds to his All-Star resume

By ZACK ROSENBLATT Published February 13, 2013 at 2:36am Updated February 13, 2013 at 2:36am

Arizona signee Rondae Jefferson was named to this year’s Jordan Brand Classic on Tuesday.

Jefferson, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Chester High School in Pennsylvania, has already been selected to two other prime high school All-Star games in April’s McDonald’s All-American game in Chicago and the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland.

“I think that says a lot about the talented player that he is,” head coach Sean Miller said.

The Jordan-Brand Classic will take place on April 13 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is set to be televised live on ESPN2.

Jefferson, rated five stars and No. 11 overall by Scout.com, will be the 18th Wildcat recruit to play in the McDonald’s All-American game. Current UA freshmen Grant Jerrett and Brandon Ashley played in last year’s game.

On Sunday, Jefferson competed in front of a national audience on ESPN2 when Chester faced rival Neumann-Goretti.

Jefferson had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 58-41 win.

After the game, Jefferson spoke with ESPN’s Dave Telep about what his expectations are for his UA career, which will begin next season: “Just to go and impact the team,” Jefferson said. “Help them try to win a national championship and just contribute any way I can. Do the little things that count and just make the team better.”

Next year, Jefferson is expected to slide into the starting small forward role that will be vacated by the graduation of Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom.

Miller is impressed with Jefferson, although he wasn’t able to watch Sunday’s game.

“A lot of people told me he played really well,” Miller said. “I’m not surprised. He’s a terrific talent.”

“A lot of those intangibles Rondae has comes from Chester and playing at Chester High,” Miller added.

The Clippers have won two consecutive state championships, and Sunday’s win against Neumann-Goretti marked their 69th straight in-state win.

In addition to Jefferson, Arizona is targeting another Top 10 recruit who will be a participant in all three of the same All-Star games.

Aaron Gordon, a 6-foot-8 forward from San Jose, Calif., has a list of four teams he’s considering, including Arizona; the other three are Oregon, Washington and Kentucky.

It is unclear when Gordon will make his decision, but he would be a nice addition to the Wildcats’ already stacked frontcourt.

In addition to Ashley and Jerrett, the Wildcats have freshman Kaleb Tarczewski, sophomore Angelo Chol and junior transfer Matt Korcheck on next year’s roster, provided no one transfers from the UA.

Gordon is rated the sixth-best prospect by Scout.com, the second-best power forward and the third-best recruit that hasn’t yet picked a college home.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Chester High School is located in Philadelphia. It is actually located in Pennsylvania. The article has been updated to reflect this correction.