SWAC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

17. Demontrae Jefferson

A 5’7 point guard from Milwaukee, Jefferson was a high school stud who made his way from Wisconsin down to Texas. He joined Mike Davis’s program at Texas Southern and was a marvelous piece in Davis’s last two years with the Tigers between 2016 and 2018. Though Jefferson’s career would last just two years, he’d make the most of it with this program.

Jefferson’s freshman year saw him average 14.3 points a game as the Tigers won yet another SWAC regular season and tournament title. Jefferson would add a season-high 28 points in their conference tournament win over Alabama State before their season was ended by eventual NCAA champion North Carolina. Sophomore year was even greater, as Jefferson was now up to 23.3 points and 4.6 assists per game, taking the Tigers to another SWAC Tournament title. He’d even have three different 30-point performances and would shoot 39% from beyond the arc.

While Jefferson would eventually drop out of school and never return to college basketball, he showed a lot of potential in these years with the Tigers. Those scoring numbers as a sophomore were truly impressive, as Jefferson finished 8th in the nation in points per game, while his overall shooting numbers were very impressive for a SWAC backcourt weapon. You can’t complain about a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament and those types of numbers.