Mississippi State's DJ Jeffries gets another shot at Kentucky

Well, well, well, how the turntables.

Wednesday night Kentucky will share a basketball court with Mississippi State. Not long ago D.J. Jeffries planned on suiting up for the Wildcats. Instead, he’ll be wearing a Bulldog uniform.

D.J. Jeffries was the first commitment of Kentucky’s 2019 recruiting class. The initial plan was for James Wiseman to join him in Lexington. Plans changed, and like Wiseman, Jeffries decided to start his college career by wearing a different shade of blue at Memphis. By flipping to Penny Hardaway, D.J. Jeffries became the first recruit to ever decommit from John Calipari’s Kentucky basketball program.

After two season at Memphis, Jeffries transferred to Mississippi State. In his first season in Starkville the former Top 50 recruit averaged 8.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Ben Howland was fired following an 18-16 season and Jeffries entered the portal again, only to be convinced by new head coach Chris Jans to stay in Starkville.

“It’s been a stressful, long, long journey, man,” Jeffries told KSR at SEC Media Day. “I’m just thankful to be here. At least I’m still out here playing basketball. Everybody goes through ups and downs in life, and I’ve been through a lot of downs. But I’d say I’m in good spirits.”

Wednesday night he’ll get another shot at the school he once thought he’d attend. In last year’s game against the Cats he was just 1-of-6 from the field (1-4 3FG), scoring five points and grabbing four boards in an 82-74 overtime loss for the Bulldogs at Rupp Arena.

He’s not a star for Mississippi State, but is starting to find his footing as a second-fiddle to Tolu Smith in the paint. The 6-foot-7 forward is scoring 10.7 points per game in the month of February in the midst of a five-game winning streak for the Bulldogs. Mississippi State is 21-7 in his career when he scores at least 10 points.

Tonight’s game might mean a little more for Jeffries, but he will not be bringing any added animosity with him to The Hump.

“There’s always love with Kentucky, man,” Jeffries said before the start of the season. “I just like messing with the fans sometimes. I’m going to always love Kentucky. When I committed there, they showed me so much love. There’s no hate there, I really love them. I will always appreciate Kentucky.”