Mr. Basketball Candidate: Damien Jefferson

<p>With the start of the high school season, we look to dive into the possible candidates for the Mr. Basketball Award in Indiana.  Since 2006, seven of the ten winner have been drafted by NBA teams.  Of those three others, Bloomington South’s Jordan Hulls went undrafted and Hamilton Southeastern’s Zak Irvin and Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan are still in college.  This prestigious award is always a difficult choice with the amount of talent in the state every year.</p><p>This year is no different and maybe even more than the past few.  There are no really dominant teams at the top levels and that evens the playing field even more. Players from all over the state should vie for this opportunity.  Guys like Dru Smith down in Evansville or Damien Jefferson up in East Chicago.  As always, there are tons of options in the central part of the state with C.J. Walker, Eron Gordon, Kyle Guy, and Joey Brunk near the top of the list.</p> <p>This season will be difficult to predict but we breakdown some of the key factors of each player we think has an early shot this year.  We continue with Damien Jefferson of East Chicago Central.</p> <h3>Damien jefferson of East Chicago Central (IN)</h3> <p>If there is one place outside of the Indianapolis area that consistently delivers talent it is The Region.  East Chicago has been a great place to house some Mr. Basketball level players and this year it is Damien Jefferson&#39;s turn.  The 6&#39;5 wing is as talented as any in the class.  He&#39;ll compete this year with East Chicago as they try and make a deeper run this season under new head coach Pete Trgovich.  Jefferson has been the other guy next to Hyron Edwards the last few years but this is undoubtedly his team.  The New Mexico commit put up a near double-double last season and should expand on that.   </p> <h3>WHY HE CAN WIN</h3> <p>Jefferson brings good athleticism and length with a great scoring prowess.  He&#39;s different from a lot of the other contenders because of this.  He is seen as more of the flashier guys of the group and will be able to put up big numbers all year long.  He&#39;s been around the Indianapolis area playing quite a bit the last few years as ECC is one of the most traveled teams in the state so he has as much exposure as anyone to the voters.  Because Jefferson is so tough to guard, he should have plenty of consistency from game to game.  With his new head coach and a new direction, ECC could find more postseason success than in years past.</p> <h3>THINGS TO WATCH FOR</h3> <p>The recent struggles in postseason play from East Chicago will be factored in a bit.  While people know who Damien Jefferson is, it is vital for teams in the corners of the state to make deeper runs during the tournament.  The other thing to watch for is that their only real travel this season is down to North Central for a holiday tournament.  </p>