Last season, four-star freshman DJ Jefferson opted to redshirt instead of instantly burning a year of eligibility.

During this time, Jefferson was able to work on his own game while practicing with the team and getting stronger in the weight room.

While he worked to improve himself on and off the court, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes noticed an area that needed attention. The 6-foot-5 guard's jump shot form needed to be adjusted due to him 'slinging back' his shots.

After diagnosing the issue, Barnes tasked Jefferson with form shooting with a heavy ball. He had to make almost 400 shots with the weighted ball after practices for nearly a month.

"It was a little bit of an error I had in my shot," said Jefferson. "I was kind of slinging it back a little bit and coach Barnes noticed that. Especially, when I first moved into campus...

"At first, I was kind of thinking, what is (Barnes) doing? As time went forward I've noticed my shot (improve). I think that drill itself helped me all the way through that whole year. Just keeping the ball in front of me. Keeping the ball in front of my brow instead of slinging it back."

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Due to this change, Jefferson has become a dangerous shooter around the perimeter. It's clear that he has the ability to drive at a high level and play stout defense, but a reliable 3-point shot could take his game to the next level.

So far, the adjustment has paid off. In practices this off-season, Jefferson leads the team in shooting percentage on 3-point shots.

"I was just talking to a couple of my coaches and we were going over what we've shot this year as a team," said Barnes. "(Jefferson's) actually got our best shooting percentage from the 3-point line. Overall, he's shooting over 40% from three. He's over 50 inside of two."

This example of growth for Jefferson defines what type of player and person he is. While many highly-rated recruits would claw at any opportunity to see the floor as a freshman, he knew it would benefit him the most to sit out for a year.

Now, he is reaping the benefits of his maturity. This includes his willingness to learn from the coaching staff.

Despite other players possibly becoming hard headed and not wanting to change a mechanic that they've dealt with their entire life, Jefferson was willing to trust Tennessee's experts.

"He's always been receptive to coaching," said Barnes. "I go back, his family, they're very real. We talked about it. We talked about it all the time during the recruiting process. We're going to try to start coaching you when we recruit you so we can tell you when you get here what we think you need to work on. We had talked about it through the recruiting process.

"I just said, 'Hey, you're good, but if you want to take it to another level you are going to have to be able to make changes like everybody does in other sports. Whether it's basketball, golf, hitting a baseball. There's a little tweak here or there that can help you, you need to be willing to do it. But you have to do it.'"

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee's 'quality depth' on display in summer basketball practices

Now, Jefferson will look to make his hard work pay off in game action. There is no doubt that the athletic guard has the tools to be a great player, but his mentality is what could make him such an important piece.

Instead of worrying about his own personal accolades, he wants to do whatever it takes to help the team win.

"My mentality this year is just focusing on doing whatever it is I can to help the team win," said Jefferson. "I know I've got a lot of things I can do. I can put the ball in the hoop, I can defend one through four. The main thing is, whatever coach Barnes wants me to do, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm not going to question about it. I'm not going to get mad about it. I'm just going to do it. If that's going to help us win games then I'll keep doing it."

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens.

–––––