What D.J. Jeffries learned after leaving Memphis and how he reconnected with Penny Hardaway

D.J. Jeffries plops down in a folding chair inside the University of Memphis’ Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

The 24-year-old native of Olive Branch, Mississippi, takes a few swigs of water from a gallon jug, then hops back up. With Lil Baby’s “Sum 2 Prove” echoing throughout the gym, Jeffries is on the court with Christian Simmons, a professional player development coach who also happens to be married to Memphis women’s basketball coach Alex Simmons.

Ever the laid-back, easygoing sort, Jeffries is here preparing for the next step of his basketball journey. Exactly where that will be — overseas or in the NBA — is to be determined. But Jeffries, whose career began at Memphis in 2019 and ended at Mississippi State in March, is all smiles once the hourlong workout is over. And it has been that way after each of the daily training sessions, which began two weeks ago and will continue every day for the next two weeks.

It might be awkward. Maybe even uncomfortable. After all, while Jeffries denies there has ever been any bad blood between himself and Tigers coach Penny Hardaway, he admits there was a need to move on.

“What happened at Memphis happened,” he said. “Me and Penny, we’ve squashed that. We’re good now. Being around here again, it just makes me feel good.”

Even so, all of the twists and turns or ups and downs of Jeffries’ history can’t be ignored. And he wouldn’t dare try.

“Everybody has their own story, their own route,” he said. “You can’t go back to the past, but you can live and learn from it.”

When D.J. Jeffries left Memphis — and when he almost came back

Jeffries was a big part of the huge splash Hardaway made with his first full recruiting class, which included future first-round NBA draft picks Precious Achiuwa and James Wiseman, current Golden State Warriors guard Lester Quinones, Boogie Ellis, Damion Baugh and Malcolm Dandridge.

Landing Jeffries was significant for multiple reasons. The talented 6-foot-7 wing originally committed to Kentucky when former Memphis coach John Calipari (now at Arkansas) was running the show for the Wildcats. Flipping Jeffries, a homegrown product to boot, was a feather in Hardaway’s cap.

But after two seasons, Jeffries (10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds with the Tigers) and Hardaway agreed they needed to part company. Being so close to home — and so close to so many friends and family — turned out to be more headache than heartwarming.

So following the 2020-21 season, he left.

“(Mississippi State) gave me a place to focus and stay away from the stress,” Jeffries said.

He played three seasons for two Bulldogs coaches (Ben Howland and Chris Jans), averaging 8.0 points and 5.4 rebounds during that time, advancing to the NCAA tournament twice.

There was a time, though, when Jeffries felt the urge to come back to Memphis. He had just watched former Cordova star Tyler Harris (who left for Iowa State in 2020) reunite with the Tigers in 2021. So after entering the transfer portal in 2022, he and Hardaway even talked about it.

“I wanted to be back,” Jeffries said. “But I just didn’t want to deal with the stuff I went through at Memphis.”

The right call for D.J. Jeffries and reconnecting with Penny Hardaway

Jeffries doesn’t question now whether that was the right decision, largely because it would require a potentially complicated response.

“It’s kinda like, yeah and no,” he said. “Because, I feel like, as a basketball player, I was better at Memphis. But I feel like, as far as growing as a young man and being the person I wanted to be, going to Mississippi State helped me do that.”

Once he decided to remain in Starkville, he and Hardaway went two years without communicating. Not because there were hard feelings, but rather because both were busy running their respective races, Jeffries said.

Then last week, he ran into Hardaway at FedExForum during a pre-draft workout with the Grizzlies. Neither has the same phone number they had two years ago, so they exchanged their updated digits and made plans to get back in the gym together.

“We’ve still got that good relationship,” Jeffries said. “And he was one of the greats in the NBA, so it’s never not a good thing to learn from somebody who’s been there and done that.”

Jeffries’ agency, JKC Sports Group, is sending him to Raleigh, North Carolina, later this month to continue pre-draft preparations. He has a scheduled workout with the Dallas Mavericks in June, and the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz have been in touch with his agent.

"This dude, he's talented," Simmons said. "Definitely will play professional basketball. But I would not be surprised if he gets picked up by somebody."

No matter how it plays out, Jeffries will never lose sight of the path that has helped mold him into the player and person he is.

“I’m gonna have love for Memphis and I’m gonna have love for Starkville,” he said.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What D.J. Jeffries learned after leaving Memphis, Penny Hardaway