Al Jefferson

The Jefferson family was a staple of the Progress community, a close-knit, predominantly black section of Prentiss. While his mother Laura worked as an assistant teacher in Prentiss Elementary School, Al's father was killed in a work-related accident when he was very young, leaving him without the guidance and discipline a father figure provides. He had a strong support system around him – his grandmother, Gladys Jefferson, lived on the same property as Al and his mother, and several other family members lived in the nearby town of Progress. But not having a father in his life allowed Al to find his way into trouble as a boy. As Al entered his teen years, though, an incredible growth spurt saw him sprout into a 6'4” eighth-grader, and saw him discover what would become his first love; basketball. Dr. Jefferson himself had been a stand-out player, earning a scholarship in the early 1970s to play for the University of Southern Mississippi. He helped Al to learn the game, and the youngster's enthusiasm for the sport, along with his incredible size, became impossible to ignore. Read Less