Rondae Jefferson to Arizona

Rondae Jefferson initially planned on announcing his college choice on his birthday in January.

Instead, the 6-foot-7 wing forward out of Chester (Pa.) High pulled the trigger in September after a home visit with Arizona head coach Sean Miller.

“Want to thanks everyone for congratulating me on my choice… I feel great and am proud to say that I Am a #ArizonaWildcat,” Jefferson wrote on Facebook.

Florida and Rutgers also made strong bids for Jefferson, the Rivals No. 5 small forward in the Class of 2013.

“I think that Arizona made him a priority in the recruiting process,” Team Final coach Rob Brown told SNY.tv.

“I also think that immediate playing time played a factor.  They lose Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom, who play the perimeter positions and are similar size as Rondae. So those two guys leaving, they don’t have anybody else on the roster like him. They have smaller combo guards and real big bigs, so it opened up a position for him to come in and make an impact immediately.”

Brown credited Miller and assistant Book Richardson with cultivating a strong relationship.

“Book saw him last year at LeBron camp and then followed up with a lot of interest in the spring period and then Sean was all of our Peach Jam games and all of the Global Challenge games and he really made Rondae a priority.”

Brown believes Jefferson has only begun to scratch the surface of his talents.

“I think he’s just in the beginning process of his skill development,” He said. “He’ll tighten up his dribble and improve his outside shot and I think he’ll be on his way.”