Freshman guard Chucky Jeffery dribbles past UC Irvine guard Keyonna Johnson during a Nov. 15 game. (CU Independent file/Lee Pruitt)
A new star is born.
The name is Janeesa Jeffery, but she goes by the nickname “Chucky.” Against Harvard on Saturday, Jeffery’s driving lay-up with five seconds remaining propelled the Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team to a 67-65 victory in the championship game of the Omni Hotels Classic.
Three days after her heroics, Jeffery chatted with CU Independent sports editor Cheng Sio for 20 questions.
CU Independent: Where did the nickname “Chucky” come from?
Chucky Jeffery: Oh man, I get this a lot. It came from when I was supposed to be born, the doctors told my mom I was supposed to be a boy. So they were going to name me Charles, after my mom’s grandfather. The nickname for Charles is Chucky, but they found out I was going to be a girl. My dad was still trying to name me Chucky, so they just made it my nickname.
CUI: Describe yourself in one word.
CJ (long pause): I think I’m very outgoing.
CUI: Allesa Clayton, your 21-years-old sister, was a star point guard in high school. How is the competition between you two?
CJ: Actually, we played on the same team in high school. She graduated in 2006 and I was a freshman that year. We never really played against each other unless it was in practice. [The competition] was cool because there was a lot of my family on the team at the time. My cousin La’creasha played on the team. A year before that, [my cousin] Shamela [Hampton] was on the team. It just felt good. It was like playing against my sister.
CUI: Faleesa, your 16-years-old sister, currently plays basketball in high school. How is the competition between you two?
CJ: I don’t really have time to see her. She’s at school, I’m at school up here, so we really don’t get to play against each other. But when we’re at home, us, my mom and her boyfriend will go outside and play against each other. That’s how we get that in.
CUI: Why did you choose to come to Colorado?
CJ: I initially wanted to major in business and we have a very good business school here. But now I’m like open-option and I think I’m going to study sociology. But we have good academics all around, so that’s what I looked at first. Then, I started coming up here on a lot of visits and hanging out with the players, and I just felt like a real fit. I got along with everybody, so I just felt like I fit here.
CUI: If you were scouting yourself, what would be on the scouting report?
CJ: Versatile guard, can shoot the ball but likes to drive, can create for a teammate and good passer.
CUI: No weaknesses?
CJ: My weakness is my outside shot. I think that’s my weakness because I’m not a set shooter. I need to work on my jump shot.
CUI: What is your most memorable basketball experience?
CJ: I think a good thing I really like was when I was in high school, we became league champions three times in a row. Being league champions three years in a row, that’s kind of good. I was excited about that and being the one breaking all the records in school.
CUI: What is your worst basketball experience?
CJ: Going to the Great Eight back-to-back-to-back and not getting further than that. It’s just sad, but you got to move on. I think we could’ve gone [further] all three of those years, but it was just always something we couldn’t get past.
CUI: Let’s go back to the Harvard game. You had possession of the ball on top of the “Sox Walseth Court” insignia and the clock is winding down. The game is tied at 65. Describe what was going through your head as the seconds ticked away.
CJ: Oh man. I was really just worried about not going too early because before the [end of the first] half, I went too early on the play and then they came back and hit the three. So I had to make sure I didn’t go too early. I was just standing there and I thought the girl was going to come out and pressure me. I was just sitting there and I didn’t want to think about what I was going to do because then I would fluster myself. I was just dribbling the ball and everything really just got quiet. It just felt like it was me and her in the gym. And then I came down the lane and I finished. It was just real exciting. I can’t even describe how that happened. It just happened so quick, I was just so excited. But I knew I had to get back on defense because I couldn’t like get caught down here celebrating and then they hit a three or something and we lose.
CUI: When the ball left your hands, did you know it was going in?
CJ: Oh, I knew. When I took it to the hole, I wasn’t worried about getting fouled. In my mind, I was taking it to the hole to score. When I scored, I was surprised I scored because it was in the heat of a game. But I knew I could make that basket.
CUI: What does it say about your head coach, Kathy McConnell-Miller, and your teammates to put the ball in your hands in crunch time in your fifth collegiate game?
CJ: I like being in a lot of pressure situations. So when things like that happened, I feel like I want to be in control. When she drew the play up, I was sitting there listening and I was like, ‘She’s actually giving me the ball.’ Of all the players on the team, I would think she would probably go to Brittany Spears or something like that. Me being a freshman and them trusting me to put the ball in my hands for the last shot, it meant a lot in that it boosted my confidence.
CUI: After the game, when you finally had a chance to check your phone, how many text messages flooded your phone and what did they say?
CJ: I don’t even know how many text messages I got. But my mom, she couldn’t make it to the game because she’s in Virginia with my sister. She just had a baby. She texted me and she said, ‘Congratulations. I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.’ She said she was in tears crying and she wished she could be here to see it. That’s kind of like how most of the text messages said.
CUI: When you graduate from CU in four years, what do you want your legacy to be?
CJ (long pause): Wow. I just want to be a player that everybody remembers like how Chauncey [Billups] is up on the wall. I know some people won’t exactly remember my name, but I want people to remember my game.
CUI: That last sentence rhymed.
CJ: [Laughing]
CUI: Olympian Jenny Barringer and soccer star Nikki Marshall are about to graduate from CU, do you think you are next in line as queen of CU athletics?
CJ: It’s really early to tell. I think I have the potential to do great things. It’s all going to come in time. I think I can do a lot of things here for the program and the team.
CUI: Can you describe the experience of playing youth football for eight years?
CJ: I didn’t really play basketball until like sixth grade because I was so like into football ‘til I was about in the eighth grade. I got into high school and I couldn’t really play. I just like football a lot, I played like every position. I played quarterback and I was like the only girl on the football team. That was cool. I just like the contact, especially defense.
CUI: Do guys tease when you play football or play basketball?
CJ: Oh no, not at all. They want me on their team. I’ve never gotten teased because of that. Everybody I grew up with thought it was cool.
CUI: It seems like sports is your life. When you’re not playing sports or attending classes, what are you doing?
CJ: I’m either asleep or hanging out with Brittany Spears, Whitney Houston, Bianca [Smith] and Kailah [Bailey]. That’s all I do.
CUI: In a game of five-on-five, who would you want on your team?
CJ (chuckling): Me, Brittany Spears, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Cheng Sio at Cheng.sio@colorado.edu.
