OPENING TIP: Jeffers, Stefanov: Paths converge at UIC

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

Photo by Rob Freeman/Chicago Flame Senior forward Jovan Stefanov (pictured) and Othyus Jeffers will be called upon to lead the Flames this season.

Optimism reigns as college basketball teams take the floor for the beginning of another season.

UIC coach Jimmy Collins, who is an optimistic person by nature, is especially excited about the upcoming campaign.

Two major reasons for the excitement are Othyus Jeffers and Jovan Stefanov.

Sure, the fact that the Flames return four starters, a solid core of veterans and four decent newcomers, doesn’t hurt either.

However, Jeffers and Stefanov are two of the best all-around players in the Horizon League.

Jeffers is coming off a season where he won the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year award. He grew up just blocks away from the UIC campus and honed his craft in a basketball-playing family, which includes his cousin and former Flames great Mark Miller.

Jeffers’ journey to UIC, and in life, in general, has been loaded with serious difficulties. Losing two brothers due to senseless random violence is enough to pack an emotional punch for an adult, but to suffer such painful losses when one is still in his formative years, is unfathomable to most.

However, with the guidance of his older brother, Sam, and Miller, Jeffers has made a mark in life and on the basketball court. He graduated from Hubbard High School as arguably the best player in that school’s history. After one year of playing junior college ball in Los Angeles, Jeffers returned home to make his mark at UIC.

For much more on Jeffers, including some really fascinating facts, check out Whoosh!’s feature story on Page 4.

Stefanov, whose life has had its own twists and turns as a foreign exchange student, returns for his fifth year as a graduate student. Collins loves the “team-first” attitude and positive outlook that Stefanov brings to the floor every day.

Whether it’s taking his defender to the hoop off the dribble, finding an open teammate or defending the opposition’s primary ball-handler in the Flames’ trapping zone defense, Stefanov relishes his role.

While Jeffers gets most of the pub (and deservedly so), Stefanov doesn’t get the ink, but it doesn’t bother the 6-foot-9 Serbian forward, who just wants to win.

Both of these guys have the guts and will be looked upon as leaders this season. Will it be enough to earn the Flames glory?

In my eyes, look for the team to contend for 20-plus wins and a possible conference championship. Look out, Loyola, Green Bay and Detroit: UIC will definitely leave its mark on this year’s Horizon League championship race.