"It's been tough on me. I go back and forth on it. I want to make sure I make the right decision. Hopefully, it all ends well."
Jefferson, selected Thursday to participate in the McDonald's All-American Game, set for March 28 at Chicago's United Center, said he would choose from among five schools: Duke, North Carolina State, Villanova, Kentucky, and Ohio State.
Temple (Fran Dunphy was a regular at Friends' Central games), Connecticut, Stanford, and Maryland were also in the running, but fell short of making his final list.
"I think he wants to get the season over with before doing anything," said his father, Malcolm Musgrove. And does his son have a soon-to-be-revealed favorite? "If he does, I can't get it out of him," he said with a laugh.
ESPN ranks Jefferson, who lives near 47th and Woodland in University City, as the 18th-best college prospect in the Class of 2012. Scout.com has him No. 21 in its rankings.
His Friends' Central teammates say the five-star recruit has provided nary a hint when it comes to his college destination.
"He likes to keep those things quiet," said Conrad Chambers, a sophomore guard with six Division I scholarship offers. "He's just a regular kid who likes to play basketball. He doesn't like to get into the personal stuff."
Phoenix coach Jason Polykoff, who played at Haverford College, is fine with the star's lengthy deliberation.
"I think he's being smart about things," he said. "He knows this decision is about more than just basketball. He also wants it to be right for him socially and academically. He's looking at the overall picture."
Duke was a late entry in the race to land Jefferson. But the seriousness of the Blue Devils' interest became clear when boss Mike Krzyzewski and assistant Chris Collins, son of 76ers coach Doug Collins, showed up in West Chester on Jan. 10 to see him play.
