Defending champs start fast

By Gary Bedore     May 7, 2005

Jared Soares/Journal-World Photo
Southern California H-Squad's Davon Jefferson puts up a shot during the Sport2Sport/Jayhawk Invitational. Jefferson, who has committed to play at Nevada-Las Vegas, and his team won their game Friday at Allen Fieldhouse.

An alley-oop dunk at the buzzer by one of the top high-school small forwards in the country put an exclamation mark on defending champion Southern California H-Squad’s opening victory at the Sport2Sport/Jayhawk Invitational.

“It was all right,” said a modest Davon Jefferson, a smooth-shooting, high-flying 6-foot-7 small forward from Lynwood, Calif., who topped the 20-point scoring mark in a resounding 94-77 victory over the Jackson (Miss.) Panthers at Allen Fieldhouse.

“We’ve got athleticism. We’ve got shooting. If we play hard and play better than we did today, we can win the whole thing again,” Jefferson said.

The 190-pounder signed with Lon Kruger’s Nevada-Las Vegas program in November, but is headed next season to a prep school.

Jefferson was MVP of last year’s Jayhawk Invitational, scoring 35 points in H-Squad’s title-game victory over Texas’ Top Prospects.

“I think he has a chance to be a starting-level three-man in the NBA,” H-Squad coach Rich Isaacs said of Jefferson, who will re-open his recruiting to all major colleges this year at prep school. “He still has some work to do. He’s an unbelievable kid off the court, very competitive on the court.”

Jefferson glided into the lane and was hacked hard, swishing two free throws to up 69-63 lead to eight points with about four minutes left. Jeremy Hazell, who hails from L.A.’s Fremont High, then had a steal, basket and foul shot to give the defending champs some breathing room.

Jefferson quieted the Panthers’ final comeback — sinking a 15-footer to give the defending champs a 76-67 lead with two minutes left.

“It’s an expensive trip for us, but we never thought twice about not coming back here,” Isaacs said. “They (players) really like it. It’s relaxing for them. It’s a little different than Vegas or L.A.

“They are all aware of the history of this building,” he added of Allen Fieldhouse.

Indeed.

“Personally I like the atmosphere here, getting to come and play in the Kansas gym,” Jefferson noted.

One of H-Squad’s players has KU on his long list of prospective schools. Smooth San Diego Crawford High sophomore forward Tyrone Shelley, who averaged 27.8 points and 11.2 rebounds last past season, scored at will around the basket as well as flipping in outside jumper after outside jumper.

The 6-7 player was en route to a monster game until he fell hard on a layup try, injuring his left wrist upon landing on the floor. He iced the wrist most of the second half.

“I went up to finger roll over the guy. When I came down he stepped on my wrist,” Shelley said. “We got away with a victory. That’s all that matters.”

Shelley’s high school teammate, Tyler Tucker, dished a whopping 16 assists for the winners over a strong Mississippi team led by Oklahoma State power forward signee Kenneth Cooper, who had double digit points and rebounds.

“That was a good team we beat,” Tucker said. “I heard they have one of the best teams here. We can play better than that, but it was a good start for us.”

H-Squad will play games at 8 a.m. and 10:20 a.m. today at Horejsi Center. The 17 and under finals are set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU recruit Cole Aldrich, a 6-10 sophomore from Bloomington, Minn., will play three games today for the Minnesota Magic: 8 a.m. at Allen Fieldhouse and 1:50 and 4:10 p.m. at Horejsi.

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