Rick Barnes on redshirt freshman wing DJ Jefferson: 'He can help us this year in a big way'
There’s no questioning the athleticism of Tennessee basketball freshman wing DJ Jefferson. Or even the offense he can provide the Vols with his ability as a scorer. But as is the case for most young players, there’s still strides to be made on the defensive ends.
“Much improved,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said of Jefferson before practice last week. “He’s improved in a lot of different areas. I think as he continues to mature, and he’s doing that, he’s extremely athletic. Probably the most athletic player on our team.
“(He) can do a lot of things as he continues, again, to learn the defensive side of it and learn how to stay within himself. He’s got a chance to help us.”
Jefferson, a former four-star prospect out of Richardson, Texas, sat out last season as a redshirt, with Josiah-Jordan James and Julian Phillips ahead of him on the depth chart. He was ranked No. 51 overall in the On3 ratings for the 2022 recruiting class and was the No. 17 overall small forward nationally. He was the No. 1 overall player in the state of Minnesota, where he attended Minnesota Prep Academy.
Ankle injury slowed DJ Jefferson last October, before he was given redshirt status
It was an ankle injury last October that slowed Jefferson and put him on track to redshirt after missing crucial time in the preseason. But he never flinched when told he would remain sidelined during his freshman season.
“I knew it was a great thing for me,” Jefferson told Volquest back in March, “because I didn’t want to end up having a wasted year. When they did tell me I was going to redshirt, I just took that as another opportunity to get better as a player and as a person.”
And by the time the year was over, he could tell a difference in himself after spending a season running Tennessee’s scout team and competing against his teammates.
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“To be honest, I’ve made a huge jump from where I was to where I am now,” Jefferson said at the time. “Just as far as working on my defense, learning how to play without the ball, reading defenses, things like that.”
More than anything, Jefferson explained, it was time spent “learning the game.”
“The pros and cons of it,” he said, “learning how to play hard when you’re tried. That’s one of the main things I had to really work on. I’m not going to say I wasn’t in shape, but I wasn’t in college shape.
“That was one thing I had to work on when I got here. And I just have been getting better ever since.”
Rick Barnes: ‘I think (Jefferson has) a terrific future’
Jefferson’s patience through the process, Barnes said last week, was commendable.
“I think it speaks volumes about him but also about his family,” Barnes said. “They’re looking at the long run.”
Now Barnes is looking forward to that patience paying off this season.
“I think he’s got a terrific future, I do,” Barnes said. “I think he can help us this year in a big way too. I think it goes back where his family knew, they saw where he was. Like us, they know he’s got a great future and they want to make sure he has a chance to live up to that potential.”
