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D. J. Jeffries

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D. J. Jeffries
Jeffries with Mississippi State in 2023
No. 6 – Windy City Bulls
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1999-12-28) December 28, 1999 (age 24)
Olive Branch, Mississippi
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolOlive Branch
(Olive Branch, Mississippi)
College
NBA draft2024: undrafted
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentWindy City Bulls
Career highlights and awards

D. J. Jeffries (born December 28, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Early life and high school career

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In third grade, Jeffries learned how to play basketball from his uncle at the local YMCA. He played the sport for Cordova Middle School in Memphis, Tennessee and stood 6'3 by seventh grade. Jeffries began dunking regularly by eighth grade.[1][2] Jeffries played for Olive Branch High School in Olive Branch, Mississippi. As a junior, he averaged 20.8 points per game, leading his team to the Class 5A state title.[3] He was named Clarion-Ledger Player of the Year as the top player in Mississippi.[4] In his senior season, Jeffries averaged 23.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game, leading Olive Branch to a Class 5A state runner-up finish while being named Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year.[5] He was selected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic.[2]

Recruiting

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On March 12, 2018, Jeffries committed to play college basketball for Kentucky over offers from Alabama and Mississippi State, among others.[6] He decommitted from Kentucky on July 30, becoming the first Kentucky decommit under coach John Calipari.[7] Jeffries committed to Memphis on October 27.[8] By the end of his high school career, he was considered a five-star recruit by ESPN and a four-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals. Jeffries was the number one recruit from Mississippi in the 2019 class.[5]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
D. J. Jeffries
SF 		Olive Branch, MS Olive Branch (MS) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Oct 27, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 91
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 51  247Sports: 81  ESPN: 25
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Memphis 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  • "2019 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

College career

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Jeffries debuted for Memphis on November 5, 2019, recording five points, four rebounds, four assists and four blocks in a 97–64 win over South Carolina State.[9] On November 23, he scored a freshman season-high 23 points to go with four rebounds in an 87–86 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels.[10] Jeffries missed a January 4, 2020 game against Georgia with the flu.[11] On January 20, 2020, he was named American Athletic Conference (AAC) Freshman of the Week, four days after scoring 18 points in a 60–49 win over Cincinnati.[12] At practice on January 30, Jeffries partially tore his posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and was expected to miss four to six weeks of action.[13] On March 3, after missing nine games with the injury, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season.[14] Jeffries started in 13 of his 19 games as a freshman, averaging 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.[5] As a sophomore, he averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, helping Memphis win the 2021 National Invitation Tournament. After the season, Jeffries transferred to Mississippi State.[15]

Professional career

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After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, on June 30, 2024, Jeffries joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2024 NBA Summer League[16] and on October 28, 2024, he signed with the Windy City Bulls.[17]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Memphis 19 13 27.1 .513 .390 .743 4.3 1.5 .7 1.1 10.8
2020–21 Memphis 28 11 25.6 .443 .352 .562 5.1 1.9 .9 .9 9.9
2021–22 Mississippi State 34 31 28.1 .423 .293 .726 4.2 1.9 .7 .5 8.9
2022–23 Mississippi State 34 34 31.2 .351 .272 .579 6.4 1.8 1.1 .4 8.8
Career 115 89 28.2 .420 .307 .638 5.1 1.8 .9 .7 9.4

Personal life

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Jeffries' cousins, Chandler, Dedric and K. J. Lawson, have played basketball at the collegiate or professional levels.[18] He is the son of Shatonya and Corey Jeffries.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Giannoto, Mark (August 1, 2017). "The Prospect: D.J. Jeffries, family embrace pressure of being a top recruit". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Jason (April 18, 2019). "Memphis recruit D.J. Jeffries made it this far. He's not stopping now". The Athletic. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Miller, Brody (March 24, 2018). "Meet the 2018 Clarion Ledger All-State boys' basketball team". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Kellenberger, Hugh (May 22, 2018). "Here's who was named player of the year for every sport in Mississippi". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "D. J. Jeffries". University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Rapp, Timothy (March 12, 2018). "4-Star Junior SF D.J. Jeffries Commits to Kentucky over Alabama, Mississippi St". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  7. ^ Gleary, Molly (July 30, 2018). "Four-Star 2019 Wing D.J. Jeffries Decommits From Kentucky". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Hill, Drew (October 27, 2018). "Olive Branch's D.J. Jeffries commits to Memphis, Penny Hardaway". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  9. ^ "Nov 5, 2019 - South Carolina State 64 at Memphis 97". RealGM. November 5, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Stukenborg, Phil (November 23, 2019). "No. 16 Tigers knock off unbeaten Ole Miss". University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Munz, Jason (January 9, 2020). "Two Tigers battling flu expected to play for Memphis basketball against Wichita State". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "Jeffries is AAC Freshman of the Week". University of Memphis Athletics. January 20, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  13. ^ Munz, Jason (February 1, 2020). "Memphis' D.J. Jeffries out 4-6 weeks with knee injury, according to his father". The Commercial Appeal. USA Today. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Munz, Jason (March 3, 2020). "Memphis freshman D.J. Jeffries will not return from knee injury this season". The Commercial Appeal. USA Today. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  15. ^ Coleman, Joel (April 19, 2021). "D.J. Jeffries transferring to MSU from Memphis". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  16. ^ Castany, Tammy (July 7, 2024). "Memphis Grizzlies finalize roster for the 2024 Summer League". LocalMemphis.com. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  17. ^ "Windy City Bulls Announce 2024-25 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 28, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  18. ^ Tait, Matt (July 30, 2018). "D.J. Jeffries, Class of 2019 forward and cousin of KU's Lawson brothers, is back on the market". KUSports. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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