D.J. Jefferson played his first-ever game at The Barn, Williams Arena, last week. The redshirt junior is in his first season at Gardner-Webb, and it was his first time back in town after he attended Minnesota Preparatory Academy (MPA), a local prep school.
“For me, I think it was just getting more exposure,” said the native Texan on why he enrolled at MPA. “All I had to really do is just go out and just play my best game because I knew I had good people around me that was gonna push me to be the best that I can be, which I am today.
“So, if it wasn’t for me going to Minnesota, I wouldn’t be here,” said the 6’4” guard after the season opener for both his team and host Minnesota. Jefferson admitted that he was “a little nervous. It was really fun to be able to go out and play a game that I love.”
Afterwards, Jefferson met with the entire MPA team and others who attended the Gardner-Webb game.
“I just know my whole high school team is here, and family of course.”
Hopkins High School grad London Harris last week made her collegiate debut at Williams Arena, the season opener for both her North Dakota team and the host Gophers.
“I was really excited,” the 5’7” Minneapolis native told us after the game, which Harris finished with five points and four rebounds in a defeat to Minnesota. It was her first time playing at The Barn since she helped Hopkins win the state’s girls basketball title in March.
Harris pointed out that she knew she had plenty of folk cheering her on during the game. “I just know my whole high school team is here, family of course, [but] honestly, I couldn’t put a number on it. I just know there’s a lot of people [here].”
Jefferson, in his journey from MPA to Gardner-Webb, a private university in North Carolina, first attended the University of Tennessee (2022-24), where he was redshirted and played sparingly, and Longwood University (2024-25).
“The previous schools I was at, I wasn’t really at my best,” recalled Jefferson. “Not to say that I was making mistakes, but I just felt like I wasn’t at my best, and I knew I wanted to change for myself.
“I wanted to change my perspective on life, and then also build my relationship with Christ,” admitted Jefferson. “Me going to Gardner-Webb was a big decision for me.”
Harris said she chose ND “because it was really close to home, and also it was a very family-oriented type of a team I knew that I would fit in.” She and redshirt freshman Anaiyah Fletcher are the team’s only Black players this season.
“As soon as I came on,” continued Harris, “they accepted me for the player who I am on and off the court, really cared about me in general. I’m majoring in kinesiology.”
Jefferson is the type of young man that MPA typically attracts, said founder Donnell Bratton, who started the prep school nearly 10 years ago. He told us in an earlier MSR phone interview, “99.8% of our students graduate from our program. A high percentage of them go off to college on a full scholarship.”
Since its inception, the Academy has helped 106 student-athletes receive college basketball scholarships. Jefferson is among 24 former MPAers playing college ball in colleges such as Gardner-Webb, Memphis, and Kansas State, among others.
Harris is doubly adjusting to college life and playing a new position. “It’s very, very fast,” she noted on playing college basketball. “Being the point guard, it’s a very new position for me. I’m just hoping I’ll get better at seeing the floor better.”
Speaking of diversity
Former Twins pitcher LaTroy Hawkins will be the team’s bullpen coach next season. It is still unclear whether third base and infield coach Tommy Watkins, the organization’s longest tenured member and only Black coach for the past few seasons, will be retained for 2026.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.