What DJ Jefferson showed Rick Barnes when he called him out in Italy
Rick Barnes wasn’t on the bench for Tennessee’s three exhibition games in Italy. Instead, he watched from the stands and left the coaching duties to associate head coach Justin Gainey while the Vols faced the Lithuania U21 national team and A.S. Stella Azzurra, a professional team in Rome.
Still, redshirt freshman wing DJ Jefferson heard his head coach barking from the stands Monday night during Tennessee’s 97-51 runaway against Stella Azzurra.
“His exact words were ‘show me something,’” Jefferson wrote on social media Monday night, “so I responded.”
The response was driving toward the rim and exploding from just inside the paint, skying high for a right-handed dunk just a few feet from where Barnes was seated. Jefferson celebrated the dunk by finding Barnes in the stands and flashing a big smile as he turned to go back down the court.
“Did you see him look at me?” Barnes asked in video posted by Tennessee basketball on Monday, smiling just as wide as Jefferson.
his exact words were “show me something,” so I responded. https://t.co/skrR2m0AZA
— DJ Jefferson (@4buck3t_) August 7, 2023
Jefferson saved his best for last during the 10-day tour through Italy, scoring 13 points in 17 minutes in the win Monday night at the Stella Azzurra Academy. He was 5-for-10 from the floor, adding three rebounds, an assist and a steal along with two turnovers.
After the game, when asked what led to his success in the Italian finale, he recalled the same principles Barnes so often preaches.
“Just locking in on the defensive end and not worrying about the offensive end,” Jefferson said, “because if you take care of your business here on the defensive side, the offense will take care of itself.
Jefferson scored two points in 14 minutes in Tennessee’s 97-57 win over the Lithuanian team on Friday, going just 1-for-7 from the floor. He had five fouls, too, with just one rebound, two assists, a steal and a turnover.
In Saturday’s rematch with the Lithuanians, Jefferson started and scored six points in 15 minutes, going 4-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-6 from the 3-point line.
Rick Barnes on DJ Jefferson: ‘He hasn’t even scratched the surface to what he can be’
Jefferson, the 6-foot-5, 207-pounder out of Richardson, Texas, was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, signing with Tennessee as the No. 51 overall player in the country and the No. 17 small forward.
He sat out as a redshirt last season, stuck on the depth chart behind Josiah-Jordan James and Julian Phillips on the perimeter.
Barnes said before Tennessee’s left for Italy that the difference between who Jefferson is now and who he was when he arrived in Knoxville is “day and night.”
“He has always been a guy that has wanted to work hard to try and figure it out,” Barnes said.
He’s also been a player that was purposely patient while waiting his turn.
“I give a great deal of credit to he and his family,” Barnes said. “They knew where he was and where they want to see him. For prospects today to want to redshirt, it is pretty much unheard of in some situations. The fact that he didn’t want to waste a year of eligibility and to get ready.
“He really started figuring it out toward the end of last year and had a really good spring. He’s getting better every day now. We are excited about him. We just know he hasn’t even scratched the surface to what he can be.”
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