Jared Jeffries still without championship ring

In Indiana, where basketball is king, winning a basketball title is a young boy’s dream.

The Indiana Mr. Basketball winner from 2000, a former-Hoosier superstar and townie, has yet to wear a championship ring.

Jared Jeffries began as a Cougar at Bloomington North High School, became a Hoosier and moved on to be a Wizard and then a Knick.

From his glory days at Bloomington North to his professional days at Madison Square Garden, Jeffries has yet to lead his team to the boyhood dream.

Jeffries’ first shot was with his BNHS team in the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s final championship game against Marion High School in 2000.

“We lost, man,” Jeffries said. “It was very disheartening, but at least we got there. I felt like, that year, we had the best team in the state and we didn’t play our best game at the championship game, but at least we got there and had a chance to win it.”

Regardless, Jeffries’ life has always been all about basketball.

“I really put a lot of effort toward making sure I could come out and be a good basketball player,” Jeffries said. “Just growing up in Bloomington, you always have basketball around you so you want to be good.”

In 2000, Jeffries signed with IU and became one of the best players of his time. While wearing the Cream and Crimson, Jeffries was named Big Ten Most Valuable Player in 2002.

Along with being named a second-team All-American and a finalist for the Naismith Award, awarded to the top basketball player in the country, Jeffries also broke the 1,000 career point record with 1,008 points.

In his sophomore year, Jeffries ranked among IU’s top-20 in rebounds and blocked shots.

“People would constantly stop you,” Jeffries said. “Everybody knew me, everybody recognized me, and just growing up here in Bloomington, I was just a bigger star here at IU.”

Jeffries missed his second shot at a title when the Hoosiers lost to the Maryland Terrapins in the championship game of the NCAA tournament in 2002.

But the second year of the new millennium was not all bad for Jeffries. After building up an impressive resume in just two seasons at IU, Jeffries forwent his junior and senior season for the NBA draft, where he was picked 11th overall by the Washington Wizards.

“You go to school to get a job, and I went to school two years, had a chance to get a good job, so I took the opportunity (and) got a great job,” he said. “Eight years later, I’m still doing it.”

But eight years later, Jeffries’ fingers are still unoccupied.

Regardless, this Bloomington native does not need a championship ring for his basketball career to have an impact on his life.

Jeffries recently pledged an annual donation to the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. The money was put toward the Twin Lakes Recreation Center, formerly known as the SportsPlex, for renovations.

Jeffries said he gives back because he doesn’t feel like anybody ever has.

“It’s such a shame that so many people have come through Indiana, so many people have been successful that were born and raised in Bloomington, but nobody ever really came back and tried to help out the community the way they should,” he said.

So year in and year out, different players take home a diamond-studded ring. But all Jeffries seems to need is a ring of Hoosier love.

“It’s something I should do, something I need to do,” Jeffries said. “I’ll never forget where I came from, and I’ll always love this town.”