Jared Scott Carter Jeffries (born November 25, 1981) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks. He was drafted in 2002 by the Washington Wizards as the 11th overall pick. At 6'11", he plays at the forward/center position, although he started at shooting guard position on many occasions with the Wizards.
Before competing in the college ranks, Jeffries attended high school at Bloomington High School North, advancing to the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) basketball finals in 2000 before losing to Marion High School, led by current Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph. In his last two years in high school, one of his teammates was future North Carolina player Sean May. Jeffries was recognized as the 2000 Indiana Mr. Basketball.
Jeffries played basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, where he played for two years before forgoing his junior and senior years to enter the NBA draft. Jeffries was a key cog in the Hoosiers' Cinderella run to the 2002 NCAA title game. Against #1 Duke in the East Regional Semifinals, Jeffries had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead IU to a 74-73 upset victory. Jeffries received the 2002 Silver Basketball from the Chicago Tribune as the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten.
Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is an American professional basketball player with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After receiving no athletic scholarship offers out of high school and being undrafted out of college, the 2010 Harvard University graduate reached a partially guaranteed contract deal later that year with his hometown Golden State Warriors.
Lin seldom played in his rookie season and was assigned to the NBA Development League (D-League) three times. He was waived by the Warriors and the Houston Rockets the following preseason before joining the Knicks early in the 2011–12 season. He was again assigned to the D-League and continued to play sparingly. In February 2012, he unexpectedly led a winning streak by New York while being promoted to the starting lineup, which generated a global following known as Linsanity. Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the league. He is known for his public expression of the Christian faith.
Kevin Maurice Garnett (born May 19, 1976) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, Garnett was a 1995 McDonald's All-American at Farragut Career Academy and won a national player of the year award. Garnett entered the 1995 NBA Draft, where he was selected with the 5th overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves and became the first NBA player drafted directly out of high school in 20 years.
Garnett made an immediate impact with the Minnesota Timberwolves leading them to eight-consecutive playoff appearances. In 2004, Garnett led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals and was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2003–04 season. Since his second season in the NBA, Garnett has been named to 14 All-Star Games, winning the All-Star MVP award in 2003, and is currently tied for 3rd-most All-Star selections in NBA history. He was awarded the regular season's NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the 2007–08 season and has been a nine-time member of the All-NBA Teams selection and a twelve-time member of the All-Defensive Teams selection. Garnett currently holds several all-time Timberwolves franchise records.
Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican-American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. He plays at the center position, and graduated from Georgetown University in 2008. He was drafted 17th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors and was immediately traded to the Pacers on draft night. He has represented the Jamaican national team in international competition; he is eligible because his father was originally from Jamaica. On February 9, 2012, Hibbert was selected to his first All-Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference.
Roy Hibbert was born in Queens, New York to Roy, Sr. and Patty Hibbert. His father is originally from Jamaica and his mother from Trinidad. The family moved to Adelphi, Maryland when Roy was 2. Around that time, the New York Post states that his parents introduced him to basketball after they had "tried to get him to play tennis, then golf, then the piano."
Hibbert attended Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Maryland. The team was coached by Dwayne Bryant, who had attended Georgetown University as a varsity basketball player. Bryant introduced the still-awkward Hibbert to the GU campus. Hibbert helped make Georgetown Prep's Little Hoyas co-champions of the Interstate Athletic Conference in 2004. Since Roy is an avid Pokémon fan, his teammates would often say, "Power up, big fella," to help him play harder.
Tyreke Jamir Evans (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player with Sacramento Kings of the NBA. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis, and was selected by the Sacramento Kings as the 4th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Evans grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was mainly raised by his three older brothers. He attended American Christian Academy in Aston, Pennsylvania, and by his sophomore year began drawing comparisons to NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady. As a senior, he averaged 32.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.3 steals. He was named the MVP of the McDonald's High School All-American Game and co-MVP (with Brandon Jennings) of the Jordan Brand Classic. At the age of 16, he was featured in the documentary Gunning for That #1 Spot directed by Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Evans was chosen to be the keeper of the SLAM Magazine High School Diary for the 2008 season.
In April 2008, Evans announced that he would attend the University of Memphis, after also considering Villanova University and the University of Texas.