The Bobcat Nation

Posted: **Mon Jan 17, 2005 2:27 pm**

From MSU Sports Information:

Montana State junior guard Ja'Ron Jefferson has been named the
Big Sky
Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his performance in
the Bobcats' 62-60 victory over Montana on Saturday, Jan. 15.
Jefferson, a 6-foot guard from Oklahoma, City, Okla., matched a
career-high with 25 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.6
seconds remaining on the clock.
Jefferson played 36 minutes and tied a career-high with five
steals. He also pulled down four rebounds, made all seven of his free
throws,
blocked a shot, connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a
4-of-5 effort from 3-point range. Jefferson scored 10 of Montana State's

last 13 points. Jefferson also held Montana leading scorer Kevin
Criswell to just nine points, his lowest output in the last six games.
Jefferson is averaging 12 points and 1.62 steals per game this season.
He ranks fourth in the league in free-throw percentage (.787), 11th in
field-goal percentage (.488) and first in 3-point field goal percentage
(.510).
Montana State has won three conference road games this season.
The
Bobcats were picked to finish last in the league by the media and
coaches. MSU is 3-0 in Big Sky play and has won seven of its last nine.

Posted: **Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:28 pm**

Congratulations to JaRon. he certainly deserves this award. What a great game to pick to have your career high game! He is really a solid all-around player and I think Mick really got a good one with JaRon.

Posted: **Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:44 pm**

Jefferson is a typical Durham recruit. He was far under recruited and coming into the Big Sky season no one gave him a second thought around the league as an addition to our team. Rose JC is a Div. II JC far off the beaten path. He had decent if not unremarkable stats 16 pts a game (from memory). One “expert” told me that he was a marginal D-1 recruit, and that he might have been happier in the end to go the D-2 or NAIA route. This same source said that Pratt was a waste of a D-1 scholarship. MSU might have been the only D-1 offer he got. Yet, you plug him into Durham’s system/back court and he thrives. The same story could be said about Latovik, Reynolds, Barsh, Towsley, Owsley and Ento. Durham does not always hit a home run with these recruits, but he rarely strikes out either. He and ex-griz coach Kennedy were complete opposites in this regard. Kennedy would not sign a kid unless he had a strong pedigree, but Durham could careless what recruiting services, national publication, or even his fellow coaches, he looks past stats and the like and looks for his kind of player. I really find it quite remarkable these unknown, players that eat up the Sky.

Posted: **Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:48 pm**

When was the last time that two different players from the same team won POW in back to back weeks? That's quite an accomplishment. It would be pretty amazing if Dissly or Miller had a great weekend to make it three in a row by three different players.

Posted: **Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:18 pm**

I gathered from the article about Jefferson and Miller that Jefferson is a pretty mature guy-he has a good head on his shoulders. That may be more valuable to this team than even his athletic ability. I like how he goes about his business on the court-always calm, never rattled. I saw him take a big yawn against Northern Colorado-right before he canned a three pointer. He just seems real easy going.

It's interesting-if Frank Brown was still on the team, Jefferson would probably be the odd man out. He clearly struggled coming off the bench behind Brandon Miller, but has blossomed as a starter. Right now he's probably the toughest guy for Durham to take out of the lineup at any time during a game.

Posted: **Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:24 am**

Fortunately, we(oops, sorry Mr. Welsch, I meant the Bobcats) had a better player than Criswell, one JaRon Jefferson! Class kid who can play, IMHO, LMAO.

The team played hard, but other than JaRon, it was a mediocre performance. They can and will play better.

Beye had a tough night. He may have been too frustrated by the fouls. He'll do better next time.

The one thing Mick should do is observe how the friz went to the hoop. It's easier said than done, but Krysko was the best and knows how to teach it, too, apparently.

I'm very optimistic about this conference season, but CSUS and NAU always scare me, even at home, for different reasons. We know the Cats can play on the road, now, but can they avoid over confidence at home? We shall see.

The Bobcat Nation

Jefferson is Big Sky Player of the Week

Jefferson is Big Sky Player of the Week