How many basketball players do you know that start off a conversation talking about defense over offense … of their own volition?
In that respect, Hawaii sophomore guard Garrett Jefferson is cut from a rare cloth.
"I like being out here, all the support from the fans. It’s just fun playing for them in that big arena; it’s easier to play defense when everybody’s chanting," Jefferson said. "It’s just a lot of fun and excitement from the crowd."
It’s a promise: He wasn’t prompted with the "D" word before that sentence.
His salivating for stops is genuine. Combined with uncommon quickness and athleticism, it’s allowed the 6-foot-3, 170-pound Jefferson to carve out an important niche as the Rainbow Warriors’ defensive specialist. Nowhere was that on better display than in UH’s 74-68 overtime win at Fresno State last week Thursday; Jefferson logged 43 of 45 possible minutes and hounded the Bulldogs’ top player, Kevin Olekaibe, into a 15-point night on 5-for-17 shooting.
UH BASKETBALL
» Louisiana Tech at Hawaii
» Thursday, 7 p.m. (after 5 p.m. Wahine basketball)
» at Stan Sheriff Center |
"He was probably MVP of that game," UH coach Gib Arnold said.
Jefferson could have another key role in Thursday’s home game vs. guard-oriented Louisiana Tech.
Going back to his days at Mayfair High School in Lakewood, Calif., "Gee" turned to his defensive prowess to earn playing time. He relished matchups with top players in the greater Los Angeles area, comparing their offensive game to his ability to limit them.
Division I offers were scarce, however. He ended up at Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., playing a single season of junior-college ball. He averaged 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in about 18 minutes a game.
When several UH signees became academically ineligible in the offseason, Arnold was looking for an athletic wing player. UH invited Jefferson for an official visit just before the "Warriors to Asia" tour in August, and he committed while his future teammates were in China.
"Plan B" might have exceeded all expectations, even with a modest scoring average of 3.5. Jefferson is one reason UH’s defensive field-goal percentage is back under .400 (.399), tops in the WAC.
Depending on the matchup, he can earn his keep at either end of the floor. He had three dunks for a season-high 10 points at Fresno. And Jefferson’s slipperiness in sliding around screens and aggressive pressure in bodying up ball-handlers (read: seeing what he can get away with) are games unto themselves.
"He does not get screened. You can’t screen him," Arnold said. "He’s too quick, he’s too smart, he’s too tough."
Jefferson will use his chest to bump dribblers and his feet to slide laterally, but usually avoids fouling because he doesn’t swipe at the ball in the open court. With prodding, the quiet sophomore admitted to a bag of tricks.
"Whatever you can do," he said. "(Use) one little thing to throw the offensive person off. Putting your hand (on them), getting a tip on the ball. Anything. Just never quit on the play."
Jefferson attributed that attitude to his father, Derrick, a former player at Banning High School in Wilmington, near Los Angeles. Garrett’s parents have seen their son play several games this season, including at Fresno and the narrow loss at Nevada (77-74) on Saturday.
"He always tells me he can play defense better than me," Jefferson said. "I don’t know if I believe it.
"He didn’t tell me that after the Fresno game. But he tells me that a lot," he added, laughing.
Associate head coach Benjy Taylor once prided himself on defense as a guard at Richmond in the 1980s. He gives credit where credit is due, calling Jefferson "a throwback kind of player."
"If he’s not THE best, he’s one of the best (defensive players) I’ve ever coached because he’s a good on-ball defender, and a good off-ball defender … he can defend ball screens, he can defend stagger screens," Taylor said. "He’s just relentless, and he takes pleasure in playing defense. It’s hard to find that nowadays. Twenty years ago, that was kind of common."
Jefferson’s drive to deny in both practices and games has had a secondary beneficial effect.
"I mean, he’s just a pest," forward Hauns Brereton said. "And he’s always in your face when you want to shoot it. He’s always in your way when you want to drive it. I mean, he’s been making us a lot better offensively. If he has to guard us, it’s helped us in games ’cause there’s no defender as good as him.
"He makes it feel like in a game, you’re a lot more open than you really are."
