Jared Jeffries

Jared Scott Carter Jeffries (born November 25 1981, in Bloomington, Indiana) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the NBA. He was drafted in 2002 by the Washington Wizards as the 11th overall pick. At 6'11", he plays at the small forward position, although he was known to play the starting shooting guard position on many occasions with the Wizards.

Jeffries is a versatile player, able to do many things on the court including rebounding, ball-handling, and scoring. He is most well-known for his defense, however, as the Wizards often gave him the toughest defensive assignments. As an example, in the 2006 NBA Playoffs, he guarded LeBron James, star of the Cleveland Cavaliers, for most of their first-round series.

High school and college

Before competing in the NBA, Jeffries attended high school at Bloomington High School North, advancing to the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) basketball finals in 2000 before losing to Marion High School, led by current Knicks forward Zach Randolph. He was named Indiana Mr. Basketball in 2000. In his last two years in high school, one of his teammates was future North Carolina center and Charlotte Bobcats power forward Sean May. He then attended Indiana University, where he played for two years before choosing to forgo his junior and senior years in favor of entering the NBA draft in 2002. While in college, he was a part of the team that advanced to the NCAA title game before losing to the Maryland Terrapins. Jeffries received the 2002 Silver Basketball from the Chicago Tribune as the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten.