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get to the game? Don't worry, we've got ya covered.
Jeffries lends helping hand
3/14/2008
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
Little has changed for Terry Jeffries. Just like elementary school and high school, the modus operandi remains the same for the Fort Hays State University junior guard: find Tiger guard Tyrone Evans.
The two Tigers have grown up together and each transferred to Fort Hays this season. The pair, friends nearly their whole lives, have been critical parts of Fort Hays' 19-10 season and run to the NCAA tournament.
"Terry opens up a lot a lot of shots for me with the way he drives and people collapse on him," Evans said after Tuesday's practice. "Somehow he always finds me."
Evans turned to his friend, smiled and laughed and said: "Thanks for finding me."
Evans leads the team in scoring at 12 points per game and paces the squad with 78 3-pointers.
Jeffries, who broke his foot before the season started and had a rough time in non-conference action, continually found Evans down the stretch and ranked second in the MIAA with 4.1 assists per game.
"When you know who your big shooter is, you are going to give him the ball," Jeffries said with a smile.
Several coaches named Jeffries one of the conference's better players, a talent that will be on display when Fort Hays, the No. 6 seed in the South Central Region tournament, opens against No. 3 University of Central Oklahoma at noon Saturday at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.
"I think from the beginning of the conference to the end of conference, he has improved as much as anybody in the league," Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University coach Jeff Guiot said of Jeffries. "I think a lot of that is just confidence, having some success, the team kind of meshing. I think he just realized how important he was to the basketball team.
"When he plays well, they are pretty dang good. When he doesn't, they struggle a little bit. He is kind of one of the unsung heroes of that basketball team," Guiot added.
Jeffries has always been a stronger distributor -- especially to Evans. The two grew up in Aurora, Ill., and started playing basketball against each other in elementary school. Their two houses are several blocks from each other and each is within walking distance of the school gym.
The duo was among 20 to 25 players that would gather at the fieldhouse to play and the group enjoyed 5-on-5 contests with talented players. In addition to Evans and Jeffries attending Fort Hays, their group has several other athletes playing college basketball, including one at Div. I Robert Morris University in Chicago.
Jeffries, who uses an effective driving style, often found Evans for jumpers.
"I just tried to get open," Evans said.
The two dominated at East Aurora High School, each collecting all-conference and all-state honors. Jeffries averaged six assists per game as a senior and went to Hutchinson Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College.
Last season, he led Northwest Mississippi with 5.4 assists per contest before he transferred to Fort Hays -- and reconnected with Evans, a transfer from Independence CC.
Jeffries, though, broke his foot and missed two months. His first Tigers practice was about four days before the first game. He logged more than 20 minutes just once in the team's first four contests.
"His progression was going to take longer," Tiger coach Mark Johnson said.
Jeffries yielded several terrific moments, including five points in the last 10 seconds in a 79-75 nonconference victory against University of Nebraska-Kearney, but Johnson wasn't pleased with Jeffries' turnovers or fouls in key situations. Through the first 11 games, Jeffries had more turnovers than assists and featured just three games with at least five assists.
However, as Evans started consistently scoring in double figures, Jeffries' play also got better.
"Terry is probably the guy in the last 10 games that is the most improved," Johnson said. "Any time you get new guys into your program, it is going to take awhile for the light to come on and for them to feel comfortable."
In his last 18 contests, Jeffries averaged 4.94 assists per game, including four straight seven assist contests and had 11 games with at least five assists. He also scored in double figures in five of his past six games and shot 53.6 percent from the field in that span. The stretch helped Fort Hays finish over .500 in the MIAA.
"They run their offense, they set good picks," Guiot said. "They make crisp passes and they execute their half court plays really well to get guys open."
For Jeffries, that meant distributing the ball -- and finding his hot-shooting friend. Evans had multiple baskets, including three of seven field goals in a Jan. 26 game versus Missouri Southern, off Jeffries' assists.
Just like it's been their entire lives.
Sports reporter Conor Nicholl can be reached at (785) 628-1081 Ext. 127, or at
cnicholl@dailynews.net.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
| SB | 5/01 | Emporia State | L 11-0 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 14-1 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 12-2 |
