Jeffers out to make lasting impression

(as published in Whoosh! magazine Nov. 13, 2006)

Whoosh! photo Othyus Jeffers (right) finds peace on the basketball court.

Basketball is his sanctuary.

Whether it is on a concrete playground near the lake or the UIC Pavilion floor, Othyus Jeffers feels at peace with a brownish-orange ball in his hands.

He needed an escape from the cruel realities of the world, in which two of his older brothers were murdered by gunshot as he was growing up.

“Basketball was my way to get away from everything,” Jeffers said. “When I’m on the court, I’m free. I have no worries, no distractions.”

Part of a basketball-playing family, Jeffers has overcome many obstacles and the personal tragedies in his life to become a star at UIC.

The first cousin of former Flames star Mark Miller, the 6-foot-5-inch Jeffers has already made a mark for himself in just one year of competition at the University. He led the team in rebounding (7.6 per game) and assists (3.0) and was second of the squad in scoring at 11.6 points per contest.

Jeffers was the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year as the Flames closed last season strong, winning eight of their final 12 games.

Most of Jeffers’ accolades, however, followed the unnecessary violence that stole two members of his family.

Formative years

Jeffers was born on August 5, 1985 and is the son of Geraldine Allen and Otha Lee Jeffers. He grew up primarily around three of Geraldine’s sons, Henry, Gerome and Edmund, as well as his cousin, Miller.

Othyus and most of his family lived in the ABLA projects on the near West side, just South of Roosevelt and East of Ashland.

Fastbreaks with Othyus Jeffers On the run with junior swingman from Hubbard High School … Favorite musician: “I have so many. Marvin Gaye, Rick James and Tupac are the main ones.” Favorite TV show: “Sex and the City. I’ve got all the seasons on DVD.” Favorite food: “Chicken Alfredo, usually from Olive Garden.” Best advice received: “All’s well that end’s well.” Favorite movie: “Gladiator. In L.A. [my teammates] used to call me Maximus for some reason. They always felt that it was me. It was kind like my life.” Something that you like that would surprise other people: “I like going to Chuck E. Cheese. I’m a big kid. I like to play the games, like skeeball or Whack the Mouse.” Guilty pleasure: “It’s got to be shopping downtown on Michigan Avenue.” Favorite athlete: “Kobe Bryant, because he finds ways to up his game every season.” Favorite sports team: (Slight hesitation) … “The Patriots.” Best part of Chicago: “Downtown. It’s lovely at night.” Best part of UIC: “The gym, usually the FAC or the Pavilion.” Best moment as a UIC Flame: “Beating Milwaukee [last season] at their place.”

“We were one of the biggest families in the neighborhood,” Jeffers recalls. “Those guys played basketball in high school and won championships. They were the talk of the town.”

Henry, who goes by the nickname, Sam, won a frosh-soph city title at Marshall. He was along for the ride with the Commandos’ varsity team that had Arthur Agee of ‘Hoop Dreams’ fame as they chased a state championship.

Gerome and Edmund both played varsity ball at Westinghouse, as did Miller.

Othyus’ brothers were much older and they tended to gravitate toward Miller, who was about the same age. That particular clique usually hung out together. Not that young Othyus didn’t try to sneak out with the big boys.

“All of them would have bikes and I didn’t have a bike,” Jeffers said. “I found a bike in the garbage and fixed it up. I’d be behind them, but pretty far back, so they didn’t know. Everywhere they went, I ended up following them.”

Miller called Othyus a “typical bad kid” in sense that he would be a bratty pest around the home or in the neighborhood.

“They would always tell me ‘Go home’ and I wouldn’t go home,” Jeffers said.

Young Othyus was always poking around.

“When he was little, he would stick his feet into our shoes,” Miller recalls. “His feet were too little. He was probably a size 2 or 3 and we were like an 8 or 9.”

Othyus was the typical energetic little kid, but little did he know how fast he had to grow up.

Tragedy strikes

On the evening of Dec. 13, 1993, Gerome, Edmund and Miller rode home on a CTA bus down Roosevelt Rd. after the conclusion of a Westinghouse practice.

As Miller reached his stop, he said good night to his cousins and departed the No. 12 Roosevelt bus. A few minutes later, Gerome and Edmund got off the bus in front of Banner Supermarket.

“They were coming from practice at Westinghouse,” Jeffers said. “The store wouldn’t let you in unless you were buying something. He told the Edmund to go get his favorite donuts and he waited outside.”

After a few minutes passed, Edmund walked out of the store with the donuts just as Gerome took a bullet to his head. Gerome, 16, slumped right into the arms of Edmund, who was a couple of years younger.

“The shooter mistook my brother for someone else,” Jeffers said. “He thought he was affiliated with a rival gang.”

Jeffers was just eight years old at the time and understandably confused.

“I think I knew the difference between life and death,” Jeffers said. “Growing up in that part of the city, it was kind of an everyday thing.”

Miller was a teammate of Gerome on the Westinghouse varsity team. It was a difficult grieving process for Miller, but he plugged away using basketball as an escape, helping Westinghouse to a Public League championship in 1994.

More growing pains

Miller eventually wound up at UIC and played one year for Bob Hallberg and two for Jimmy Collins. Miller’s presence at the nearby University piqued Othyus’ interests in the game even more.

“Othyus would hang out, be a ballboy and gather the balls, shoot around, get the towels for the guys,” Miller recalls. “Being at the Pavilion kept him out of trouble.”

Jeffers started to frequent Flames’ practices every day after school.

“My grammar school (Smith) was nearby,” Jeffers said. “I would come by when [the Flames’ Athletic Center] was the hockey facility and watched them practice. I was so familiar with the school. I knew which door to come through, so I would just appear.”

Jeffers, in effect, became an unofficial team manager.

“If I wanted to be around, I’d have to do all the dirty work,” Jeffers said. “I had to carry Mark’s bags. If their shoes get busted, I’d take them to the supply man to get another pair for them.”

Miller graduated in 1998 after four years and turned professional after his third year of eligibility, playing for several years in places like Croatia, Poland and France.

Jeffers, meanwhile, was growing up and attended Westinghouse his freshman year in 2000-01. He did not play basketball for the Warriors even though his godfather, Chris Head, was the varsity coach at the time.

With his basketball future somewhat uncertain and the threat of neighborhood violence prevalent, Jeffers decided to go South.

“Another brother, Standell King, had just moved South and he was transferring from Collins to Hubbard.” Jeffers said. “He said ‘Just come and try it out.’ I went up the school and everyone greeted me with open arms.”

It was there when Jeffers started a close bond with Hubbard’s varsity coach Calvin Holiday.

“Coach Holiday and (assistant) Coach Lorenzo [Donegan] are genuine people,” Jeffers said. “I played at an open gym and I just loved it from there.”

Jeffers sat out his sophomore year due to transfer rules but played his junior and senior seasons with the Greyhounds.

“I first saw Othyus in 1999 when he was in seventh grade, playing at Newberry Gym on the West side,” Holiday said. “When he first enrolled at Hubbard, I couldn’t even pronounce his name.”

Near the end of his junior year, Jeffers took another emotional blow.

Edmund was shot several times and killed in May 2003, just blocks from the family home. Edmund was just 24.

Jeffers was simply stunned: “When he got shot … Whoa … That one hit me kind of hard, because I wasn’t expecting to lose another brother in that way.”

Jeffers was at a crossroads. He became moody and distant and his world was turned upside down once again.

Back on his feet

Whoosh! photo After the death of his brother, Edmund, Jeffers did a lot of soul searching. He then a had a terrific senior season at Hubbard.

In between his junior and senior year, Jeffers was lamenting his family’s poor fortune.

“I went into a phase where I didn’t talk to people,” Jeffers said. “It seemed my family was taking lumps and no one else’s was.”

One late night during that summer, Jeffers took his dog, Kachino (a Neapolitan Mastiff), whom he shared with Sam, for a long walk and night became dawn.

“We went to the lakeshore and we ended up on a basketball court,” Jeffers said. “There was nothing there but a basketball. I ended playing hoops with my dog. From that point on, basketball was my way to get away from everything.”

Jeffers returned refreshed and focused for his senior year at Hubbard. He even started spending nights at Holiday’s home on the Southwest side and became a part of the coach’s extended family.

“There were many nights that I took care of O,” Holiday recalled. “Whatever he needed, whether it was money, food, shelter or just a shower, he always had a place.”

Holiday added that Jeffers would spend time with his wife Lynda, son Aaron and daughter Arliss.

“His mom told me that she was glad that I was in O’s life,” Holiday said. “You saved his life.”

Geraldine liked the fact that Othyus didn’t have to come home on the West side at the peak of gang crossfire.

“I didn’t want my mother to lose another son in the same way,” Jeffers said. “I asked Coach if it was OK to stay with him. He gave me what I needed.”

Sporting the No. 12 jersey that was worn by Gerome at Westinghouse and Miller at UIC, Jeffers had a huge senior season for the Greyhounds.

He averaged 25.5 points, 13.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game as a senior, guiding Hubbard to a 23-8 record. He finished ninth in the 2003 Mr. Basketball of Illinois voting.

“I remember when we beat Proviso East [in the state tournament] and he played against Shannon Brown,” Holiday said. “Othyus got caught up in the 1-on-1 battle with Shannon, and I told him at halftime, ‘start playing Hubbard basketball.’ He stopped playing to the crowd and played to win.”

Jeffers had 13 points and 16 rebounds in the Greyhounds’ 60-56 win over Proviso in the sectional finals, but the magical ride ended with a loss to Evanston at the United Center.

He was Hubbard’s all-time leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, and his No. 12 was retired by the school.

Escape to L.A.

Jeffers was heavily recruited as a prep senior, including schools like Utah, Michigan State, Connecticut, Arkansas, Florida, Miami, Loyola and UIC. However, he didn’t have a qualifying test score, so he went to Los Angeles Southwest Community College.

Jeffers played for one season in L.A., averaging 22.3 points and 10.7 rebounds. He then decided to return to close to home, and with Miller’s blessing, transferred to UIC.

“I told him UIC is a nice place to be,” Miller said. “You know everything about UIC. I kind of knew he was interested in coming back.”

Jeffers claims that the UIC coaching staff didn’t push as hard as they could have for his services.

“I knew they were interested,” Jeffers said. “They looked at me in high school, but they didn’t recruit me that hard. I knew you since I was little, how come I’m not getting your letters?” It worked out in the end, because “Big O” was coming home.

The future

After a solid sophomore season with the Flames, Jeffers said he needed to work harder on his game, and Miller was right there for him almost every day this past summer.

“We worked tremendously on my outside shot,” Jeffers said. “That’s what going to help me out this year, because everyone is going to play me for a drive and they’re going to have some trouble. I’ll be able to stop and pop. I shot this summer until my arms hurt.”

“It’s harder for me to play him 1-on-1,” Miller added. “He’s a lot stronger and quicker. He surprised me that he’s caught on so quickly. It amazed me. I didn’t think he wasn’t going to improve like that. ”

Flames coach Jimmy Collins was happy with Jeffers’ improvements both in his fundamentals and with his intangibles.

“I think the thing he’s really worked on is his overall attitude,” Collins said. “Basketball is 70 percent mental. I think there were times where O would be a little condescending to other players, who were maybe not as talented. He’s worked on being more of a compassionate teammate rather than one that criticizes.”

Whoosh! photo Jeffers believes the future is as bright as his pearly whites.

With his hard work and dedication to get better, Jeffers has NBA dreams dancing in his head. He has consulted with Miller and Holiday about possibly entering the NBA draft after this season.

“I hope he doesn’t do that,” Miller said. “I hope he finishes his degree. That’s the most important thing. He may not realize it now, but in the end in the best thing.”

“I think he’s really improved, especially on his 12-to-17-foot jumper,” Holliday added. “I think it depends on the year he has. However, he should do it like (Loyola’s) Blake Schilb did it: Go to the camps and see where you’re projected, and don’t hire an agent unless you’re sure.”

Jeffers said that his 31-year-old brother, Sam, has always told him to “Make my mark. Whatever you do, leave something for people to remember you by.” With that said, Jeffers has some monster goals for the season.

“Right now, I want to win at least 24 games, make it to the NCAA [tournament] and get out of the first round. I want to do something that no one at UIC has done before and I believe this is the team to do it.”