Located on the Mississippi side of the state line border it shares with Tennessee, the city of Olive Branch is technically considered part of the Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area for all census purposes. Yet the city and state have mostly been an invisible dot on the national prep hoops scene.
That hasnât stopped local hoopers from striving to place their local southern towns on the national stage, though. This past season, the Magnolia State was home to one of the top 25 recruits in the Class of 2019. And DJ Jeffries is well aware of the perception and skepticism that comes with hailing from where he does.
âWhen they think about Mississippi, they probably think of farms, cotton fields and stuff like that,â Jeffries says. âMississippi is not like that. Thereâs plenty of towns down here that like football and basketball. We donât get to be seen by a lot of people. Mississippi, and even in Memphis, people donât get the recognition that they deserve. I feel like there are a lot of towns that are slept on around here. They just question if Iâm really good enoughâif Iâm really one-and-done. Stuff like that. I use it as motivation. I keep it in the back of my head. On days that I donât feel like going, I just use that as motivation.â
Looking for the very best competition he could go up against in middle school, Jeffries enrolled at a school in Memphis (less than 30 minutes away depending on which part youâre traveling to) so that he could play with and against the city kids. And it turned out that this shy suburban hooper could hold his own really wellâto the point where family members of opposing players started looking into his life, specifically his family carâs license plate.
âWhen I was in middle school, originally I stayed out [in Mississippi]. I didnât stay in Memphis, so Iâd be going to middle school and I was hooping from Memphis because out here you couldnât play basketball in sixth grade,â Jeffries recalls. âThey would follow me home and take pictures of my license plate to show the board of education that I donât really stay in Tennessee and they would do a story about that. [For] my high school career, I just said that I was going to beat the trouble and just come out here where I stay.
âWe used to beat teams in Tennessee all the time. The fans would get mad. Some would follow usâif they felt we were going to beat them, theyâd follow us and take a picture of the license plate and send it to the board.â
Although there was once a time when he was basically told he had no business hooping in Memphis, local college hoop fans now eagerly (and ironically) await his return to the Grind City this upcoming season. Joining top-5 recruit James Wiseman and former NBA All-Star/current University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway, the Tigers will have some lofty expectations come this fall.
âMe and James, we play well together. James can do so many things on the court. He can stretch out [and] dribble the ball. I can shoot [and] Iâm pretty athleticâheâs pretty athletic. Me and James work well together so it wonât be a problem,â says the 2019 Gatorade Mississippi Player of the Year. âThey can expect a lot of dunks. A lot of winsâjust going out there and giving them my all and doing something special for the city. Hopefully, a national championshipâthatâd be nice.â
The 6-8 wing led Olive Branch High to a 26-8 record and a trip to the MHSAA 5A state championship game for a second consecutive year, falling short this time after taking home the trophy as a junior. He averaged 23.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game as a senior.
In the end, he credits his achievements to having a supportive tight-knit family that has been down for the ride since the beginning.
âFamily means a lot to me. Theyâve been motivating me and pushing me to keep doing better,â Jeffries says. âEver since I started playing, theyâve always been there. They go five cars deep just to go to one gameâno matter where, they were always there.â
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Franklyn Calle is an Associate Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @FrankieC7.
Portraits by Jonathan Izquierdo.
