Before junior D.J. Jeffries came to play in the Marshall County Hoopfest in December, his coach had to put him through a different sort of practice.
“I told him since he was being recruited by Kentucky, there were going to be people asking for his autograph,” said Olive Branch (Miss.) coach Eric Rombaugh. “He had kind of a stunned look on his fast. He did his autograph and I knew that wasn’t going to work. We really worked on his autograph the night before Hoopfest so he would be ready and it was a good thing. He signed a lot of autographs.”
That was before the 6-9 Jeffries had made his verbal commitment to Kentucky like he did recently. At that time he had made it clear Kentucky was his leader and when he announced he was committing to Kentucky, it didn’t surprise Rombaugh.
“D.J. cut his list down a little bit but him picking Kentucky was not a surprise. Coach Cal has been to the gym and came to one of our tournament games and that meant a lot to D.J. that Cal would take that time to come and see him,” the Olive Branch coach said. “That showed him he was kind of special to them, so him going ahead and picking Kentucky was no surprise at all.”
Jeffries grew up a John Calipari fan when he was coaching at Memphis. Once Calipari came to Kentucky, that didn’t change. Jeffries has played on new Memphis coach Penny Hardaway’s AAU team but made his verbal pledge to UK a few days before Hardaway got the job. He said then he wasn’t interested in playing anywhere else even if Hardaway got the job.
“When you are little you have dreams playing for a certain team or coach and it has worked out where D.J. will get a chance to play for a legendary coach,” Rombaugh said. “Some teammates and fans assumed he was going to Kentucky. Some thought he might stay in state, but everybody is super happy for him because he is such a good kid and hard worker.”
He’s also an exceptional player. At 6-9, he can do a lot of things skill-wise. Rombaugh says he could him playing two guard or small forward in college because of his ability to handle the ball and score in multiple ways.
“Whatever we needed him to do, he did,” Rombaugh said. “Toward the end of the season he would draw double teams and he would just make the play and pass out of it to create shots for teammates. He can score himself but he can also create. He brings the ball up a lot for us. He will post up. He’s long and can really defend. I don’t think he’ll have any trouble guarding the two or three at the next level.
“He is super strong. He is lot stronger than what he looks because he spends a lot of time in the weight room. He used to get bumped going to the rim and change directions. Now he just goes through people to the rim because of his strength.”
Rombaugh actually had to tell him to shoot more as the season progressed. Teams were playing zone to keep him away from the basket, so Rombaugh go to the perimeter to shoot.
“We needed that and he would make three or four 3’s,” the coach said.
Now he’s got the offseason to work on his autographs again. Rombaugh has upgraded Olive Branch’s schedule for next season. The team will play in the City of Palms in Ft. Myers, Fla., as well the Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts. Olive Branch will also be back at the Marshall County Hoopfest just a few weeks after Jeffries should have officially signed with UK.
“He is going to be tested by the schedule,” Rombaugh said.
Now the coach and player want to make sure he is “100 percent ready to come to Kentucky” and contribute immediately.
“We don’t want to come there and not be mentally tough enough or see that things are too hard for him,” Rombaugh said. “He wants to be coached hard and pushed. That’s another reason he chose Kentucky. He knows Cal will push him. That’s what D.J. wants.
“Basketball is just what he does. He’s a different kid when it comes to all the hoopla. He really doesn’t care about the stars and spotlight. He just wants to work and one reason he committed was so he could get back to work and do what he needs to do this summer.
“He comes to school, practices and then goes to a weight trainer even if we have already lifted. Then he goes to a skills trainer, goes home, does his homework and the next day does it all over again. That’s the kind of dedication Kentucky is getting.”
(STORY BY LARRY VAUGHT)
