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As Indiana sophomore forward Jared Jeffries scanned the list of Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball winners, going all the way back to 1946, his eyes lit up each time they rested upon a familiar name.
Frank Williams.
Morris Peterson.
Mateen Cleaves.
Bobby Jackson.
"I definitely know them," Jeffries, this year's honoree, said with a smile.
And he definitely knows Indiana's previous winners, from Archie Dees in 1957 and '58 to Steve Alford to Calbert Cheaney.
"Scott May (1975-76) is almost like my uncle. And Kent Benson (1977) comes to all our games," he said.
"It's unbelievable to be able to associate yourself with basketball players who had the college careers and the lives that these guys had. These guys were not only great players, they are also great men, on and off the court."
For Jeffries, greatness isn't just a word. It's his aspiration, his mission, his dream. In a world full of average Joes who set the bar too low, Jeffries' goal is simply "to become the best player in America."
"I've told everybody that," he said.
For Jeffries, it's no spur-of-the-moment boast.
Since he was a little boy, trading elbows and turnaround jumpers with his cousins on the court his father, Tom, had built for him in the 40-acre "yard" of his rural Bloomington, Ind., home, the last thing Jeffries has ever wanted was to be ordinary.
In a sport where kids hope they can someday be like Mike, Jeffries found his personal heroes outside the walls of a basketball arena. Jeffries admires accomplishment in all forms, from boxer Muhammad Ali to civil rights activist Malcolm X.
"My father was a big supporter of Ali's," Jeffries said. "I watched all his fights, seen all his speeches. The way he transcended nationality and racial lines was amazing."
Jeffries is a student of the game, but he's also a student of planet earth.
"I love to read autobiographies to find out how great men's lives were shaped," he said. "If they can do it, so can I. Knowing how they accomplished what they did can help me."
At the same, Jeffries is also more than ready to help himself. His smooth-as-butterscotch-pudding moves may be God-given, but coach Mike Davis said Jeffries deserves every accolade that has come his way.
"Jared has a great feel for basketball," Davis said. "But what he has also done is work very hard to take his skills to the next level. I think he could be national player of the year, a first-team All-American next year. Being around him every day, you know that's his goal. He wouldn't work that hard if it wasn't."
Frank Williams.
Mateen Cleaves.
Bobby Jackson.
"I definitely know them," Jeffries, this year's honoree, said with a smile.
And he definitely knows Indiana's previous winners, from Archie Dees in 1957 and '58 to Steve Alford to Calbert Cheaney.
"Scott May (1975-76) is almost like my uncle. And Kent Benson (1977) comes to all our games," he said.
"It's unbelievable to be able to associate yourself with basketball players who had the college careers and the lives that these guys had. These guys were not only great players, they are also great men, on and off the court."
For Jeffries, greatness isn't just a word. It's his aspiration, his mission, his dream. In a world full of average Joes who set the bar too low, Jeffries' goal is simply "to become the best player in America."
"I've told everybody that," he said.
For Jeffries, it's no spur-of-the-moment boast.
Since he was a little boy, trading elbows and turnaround jumpers with his cousins on the court his father, Tom, had built for him in the 40-acre "yard" of his rural Bloomington, Ind., home, the last thing Jeffries has ever wanted was to be ordinary.
In a sport where kids hope they can someday be like Mike, Jeffries found his personal heroes outside the walls of a basketball arena. Jeffries admires accomplishment in all forms, from boxer Muhammad Ali to civil rights activist Malcolm X.
"My father was a big supporter of Ali's," Jeffries said. "I watched all his fights, seen all his speeches. The way he transcended nationality and racial lines was amazing."
Jeffries is a student of the game, but he's also a student of planet earth.
"I love to read autobiographies to find out how great men's lives were shaped," he said. "If they can do it, so can I. Knowing how they accomplished what they did can help me."
At the same, Jeffries is also more than ready to help himself. His smooth-as-butterscotch-pudding moves may be God-given, but coach Mike Davis said Jeffries deserves every accolade that has come his way.
"Jared has a great feel for basketball," Davis said. "But what he has also done is work very hard to take his skills to the next level. I think he could be national player of the year, a first-team All-American next year. Being around him every day, you know that's his goal. He wouldn't work that hard if it wasn't."
