From HOOPSWORLD.com
Rudolph: Jared Jeffries Working Towards Improvement
By Jarrod N. Rudolph
Aug 16, 2007, 01:10
Every player in the NBA is talented. There isn’t one guy in the league that can’t tell you a story about how he once dominated a high school game or how he was told about the riches his talent would earn him at the pro level. But when all of your peers have talent, obviously talent alone won’t be enough to catapult you to the top of the NBA - many times it won’t get you off the bench. This is something that New York Knicks forward Jared Jeffries has learned the hard way, but he intends to change his fate the old fashioned way - back breaking hard work.
Jared Jeffries is a rare commodity. He is one of the few players having the skill set that realistically allows him to play four different positions. He has every reason to be a star in this league and when the Knicks brought him to New York, many people (myself included) thought Jeffries would be a key piece to bringing the team back to the playoffs. But it hasn’t happened; a broken wrist early in the season derailed Jared and led him to what can only be called a bad year.
With a healthy bank account some players may make excuses while brushing the season off, making promises to be better next year. Not Jared, he has no time. He’s too busy working harder than he has ever worked, ensuring this upcoming season is not a repeat of last year’s performance.
“I had a bad year last year,” said Jeffries. “I have always felt that if you put the work in, dedicate your time to the game, the game will give back what you put into it. I really want to take this summer to put as much as I could into it and get the rewards from it.”
Only 25 years old, it’s refreshing to see such a young player take responsibility for his disappointing season. It shows a tremendous amount of maturity and respect for his teammates, coaching staff and his craft.
“I haven’t played as well as I would have liked my entire NBA career,” he said. “I’ve had good moments and bad moments but I feel like I’m only 25 years only and my better days are in front of me.”
We still don’t know how far in front of Jared those better days are but he certainly wants to start playing at the level he knows he’s capable. To get to that point Jeffries has been working close to six hours per day preparing to be an impact player next season.
“I’m putting a lot of work in; I’m hoping it will pay off for me,” he said. “I think everyone knows I work hard but a lot of time they question my effort level. I love to play but I have to come out and show that everyday I’m giving the effort, not just physically but mentally.”
The work has to pay off for Jeffries this season.
Injuries and a failure to live up to high expectations have been the stigma attached to Jeffries. Now that he is healthy and working towards improvement there aren’t any excuses left for him - he has to produce.
The Knicks are a team looking to turn the corner and simply can’t wait for him to develop. He has to be able to contribute something to this team from day number one or his time in New York may come to an end.
© Copyright 2007 by HOOPSWORLD.com, a Basketball News Exclusive
8/16/2007 12:37 PM
