Al Jefferson

Offered per Insiders Hoops

05/25/03: "a 6-9, 245-pound man-child from Prentiss, MS (Jackson Tigers) started a little slow in the Tigers first game at 8:00am Saturday morning. In game two Jefferson, was challenged by 6-8 240-pound Darnell Jackson from Athletes First and came up huge. He scored on spinning moves to the hole, fade away jumpers, and had a thunderous slam to put an exclamation point on the game. He impressed us with his unselfish game kicking it to open man or playing inside-out with highflying wing Robert Clark. He did nothing to tarnish his claim as Best in Class in 2004!" - HoopMasters.com


4/16/03: "During the Mississippi Class 3A Boy's State Tournament, Al Jefferson, a 6-9 270-pound man-child of a center from Prentiss, MS put on a clinic in route to the Bulldogs first state title. Jefferson averaged an astounding 44.7 points in his three games at state. "When I'm on my game, I feel like nobody can stop me," said Jefferson. "I'm proud of what this team accomplished."

This season Jefferson put up huge numbers averaging 37.1 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He was named 1st Team All-Conference and 1st Team Class 3A All-State. "Al really understands the game and is very advanced on the offensive end of the floor," coach Lonnie McLenmore told Hoopmasters.com. "Al's just beginning to realize his potential. Every game, he gets better and better." With an NBA body and tremendous inside game, Al Jefferson is the Class of 2004's Top Prospect. He's already heard from every High Major program in the country, but is most interested in Alabama, Cincinnati, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Syracuse." - HoopMasters.com


4/9/03: Listed as the best PF in his class. - Insiders Hoops

12/10/02: No recent news involving the Bearcats. Moved to inactive.

9/10/02: Listed as the 3rd best player in his class. "He was the MVP of the AAU 16-under championships, and toyed with opponents down low at the Peach Jam. Had he not skipped the Nike Camp, he might be sitting atop these ratings right now." - Burlison, FoxSports

9/4: Listed as the #1 player in his class by Recruiting Nation and PrepStars

8/26: "MidSouth-Hoops has learned that Al Jefferson, the 6'9" Junior from Prentiss, MS has (currently) narrowed his list of schools to the following: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU and North Carolina. - Mid South Hoops

8/26: "Online Hoops spoke with 6'10 Al Jefferson, who attends Prentiss High in Mississippi. Jefferson, a consensus top 3 player in the nation, ruled the summer circuit this year. Bullying players with his strength his size, Jefferson had his way with just about everyone. The college coaches caught on, and every single school is mailing Jefferson. "I'm looking at Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, and UNC. Alabama is in the lead though right now", Jefferson said. Jefferson's impressive summer, along with a man's body, has NBA scouts drooling. Dubbed "Big Al" by observers, Jefferson isn't sure about the NBA right now. " It all depends on where I feel my game is at. If I know I am ready, I will go. It doesn't matter whether I am top 5, or late second-round. If I am not ready, I will be going to college and playing ball", stated Jefferson. Jefferson, whose game possesses few flaws, added where he needs to improve to get his game to another level. "Defense. Defense right now is an area where I want to improve. I think my strength's are rebounding, and scoring points. I like to compare myself to Antonio Mcdyess", said Jefferson. So, is there a player that actually gave "Big Al" problems? Jefferson said one player was tough to handle. "Ndubi Ebi was tough. The whole Houston Hoops team was good. Ebi can do a little bit of everything though". - Online Hoops

8/24: Listed as the 2nd best player in his class. - Insiders Hoops

8/20/02: "Jefferson has a future in the NBA. Unlike most players that are bigger than the competition, Jefferson works hard at getting position instead of standing around in the paint hoping for the ball. He is very confident in his offensive skills. He has nice footwork, soft hands and uses the glass well. He does lag a bit in transition though. That could be accredited to his added weight. He’s not a “fat kid” as some have put it. He’s actually a very solid player. But a workout program will do him some good." - NBADraft.net

8/18/02: Listed as the #1 player in his class. "Man/Child just dominates in the paint. Huge (275lb) young prospect with the whole package for a bigman. Great hands and a super soft touch." - PrepSpotlight

8/16/02: Listed as the #1 player in his class. - Hoop Scoop

7/18: "Al Jefferson, the burly rising junior from talent-rich Jackson, Miss., led the (Peach Jam) event in rebounding with 9.8 per game." - BasketballAmerica

7/17: "I like Alabama,". . . . He also mentioned Mississippi State and Florida as early favorites. All three of these schools have a reputation for developing quality big men. And all three had representatives at his games to watch him dominate. With Mississippi State working the hardest by having the entire staff at every game watching intently." - NBADraft.net
http://nbadraft.net/justaminute12.htm

7/15: "Al Jefferson played wonderfully. He can pound it in the blocks with many problems. Houston had a hard time trying to stop him from dominating. They don’t have the personnel to match up with him inside. Heck, nobody is going to stop Big Al. At 6-10, 270 he is physically bigger than any player in the tournament regardless of his class. He’s very confident in his game and he’s a very vocal and emotional player. He plays with passion. He does tend to lag a bit in transition defense. There is no question he can become a great shot blocker but more importantly, his presence alone deters a lot of shots out of the paint. Offensively, he stood at the top of the key and shied away from playing on the block. He has some nice post moves but doesn’t maximize them enough. The times when he used he’s big body on the block no one could stop he. Scary thing about Jefferson is his body isn’t even showing forms of lifting weights. The day he does, watch out." - NBADraft.net

7/8: "He's big, he's athletic and he's skilled. And he will dominate for stretches, which is unusual for someone who just finished the 10th grade. He'll be balling at this weekend's Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis. Though people have been touting Mississippi rising seniors Jackie Butler and Travis Outlaw since last year, Jefferson might be the one to emerge with the big summer." - ESPN

6/26: Played in the NBA Players Association High School Camp was held at VCU's Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia. "Al Jefferson is a very strong and agile post player. He could be the 'Eddy Curry' of the class of 2004." - Rivals Hoops

6/23/02: "Al Jefferson was the talk of town at the recently completed NBA Players Association camp in Richmond, virginia. The 6'11", 285 pound rising junior from Mississippi dominated play at the event. Clint Jackson reports that he was "too strong, too skilled, and too explosive to contain. He blocked shots right and left. He ran the floor and finished in transition...he's probably the best pro prospect in the entire class of 2004." Jefferson's early list consists of LSU, Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina, CINCINNATI, Georgetown and Alabama. However, Jackson said that, "I don't see that kid playing a minute of college basketball, quite honestly." - Tony's UNC Recruiting

6/22: "Jefferson plays strong defense and...runs the floor well. Jefferson's early list includes Alabama, Cincinnati, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, and North Carolina. His summer schedule includes an AAU event in Detroit next week, the Nike All-America Camp in Indianapolis, Peace Jam and perhaps the Nike Showcase." - Rivals Hoops
http://RivalsHoops.rivals.com/


6/11: Listed as the 2nd best player in his 2004 class (behind Sebastian Telfair) Jamar is 14th. - PrepStars

5/29: "Let me start off by saying that BIG Al is only going to be a junior. He is probably 6’9 and around 250 if I was guessing. I watched Al on two occasions and he is an enforcer in the paint. He is a space hog in the paint and he is very intimidating in there with the exception of Ebi from Houston. Al showed that he can not only dunk the ball with ease, but he can score on hook shots and soft touch jump shots from 5-10 feet. His size enables him to swallow rebounds that come off the rim. One of the negatives on Al is his work ethic and his ability to shy away from the big plays. Against Houston Hoops, Al never demanded the ball while Ndubi Ebi was guarding him. Once Ebi fouled out, he showed more desire to get the ball in which he scored easily. He needs to play the whole game as hard as he does in those spurts... - unknown post-er from the CardinalSport board

5/29/02: "Jefferson says Alabama is the early favorite, but he also mentions Cincinnati, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, and Mississippi State." - Hoop Scoop

5/21/02: Listed as the 3rd best player in the class of 2004 - Hoop Scoop

4/12/02: "Played for the Jackson Tigers 16 and Under. Jefferson is the best player we've seen in the Class of 2004 thus far. He's gained a little weight since last year's Tournament of Champions, but it hasn't slowed him down one bit. Long arms and muscular frame with a wide base. Big Al really gets after it at both ends of the floor. He powers through defenders inside and has remarkable touch on shots 16 feet and in. Carries his weight well, getting up and down the floor with ease. Explosive leaper. Strong rebounder. Vocal leader who wants the ball in the low blocks every trip down the floor. Shaquille O'Neal and Shawn Kemp comparisons are in order. Scored 30 points in the 16 and under championship game. We also saw him go for 26 points and 19 points this past weekend. Elite high major prospect in the Class of 2004" - All Star Report

1/21/02: "Lavel Johnson, the Mississippi Editor of the HOOP SCOOP & MidSouth-Hoops.Com, tells us that early list for 6'9 Soph Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S) MS, who is one of the top five sophomores in the nation, includes LSU, Maryland, Cincinnati, Michigan, Kentucky, and Duke" - Hoop Scoop

11/27/01: "But the best player in the state regardless of class might already be 6'9 Soph Al Jefferson from Prentiss HS, MS, who currently is ranked #4 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP. (We've been told) that Jefferson has been putting up ridiculous numbers this year. As a matter of fact, only once has Jefferson scored fewer than 30 points in a game so far this season." - Hioop Scoop

11/13/01: "Sophomore Al Jefferson of Prentiss (Miss.) has surfaced as one of Mississippi's top basketball prospects. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound center scored 43 and 46 points last week in early season games." - Student Sports

July 2001: Post player had a terrific tournament as one of the top scorers (27 ppg) and probably the top rising sophomore. He has good size and strength, rebounds very well at both ends, is a good shot-blocker, and an excellent post scorer. He has a great deal of potential." - 2001 Bob Gibbons Camp notes, Phil Nation