It’s Not a Conflict of Interest

Davon Jefferson has lost count of how many times he has felt like walking out of practice and quitting the boys’ basketball team at Lynwood.

It’s probably about the same number of times Coach Mike Acheanpong has felt like kicking Jefferson off the team.

The two make no secret of their occasional disagreements, but the coach and star player have learned to live with one another and, in doing so, have elevated Lynwood to elite status among teams in Southern California.

The Lynwood girls’ program has long been recognized as one of the best in the state, but a 7-3 start by the boys’ team that includes victories over Compton Centennial, Long Beach Poly and Pasadena Muir and a 75-67 loss to nationally ranked Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy has helped it forge an identity of its own.

The Knights, ranked No. 11 in the Southland by The Times, can further solidify their status today against No. 13 Los Angeles Loyola in the 5 p.m. game of the Pangos Dream Classic at Hope International University in Fullerton.

A meeting of the minds between Jefferson, a 6-foot-8 senior forward who has committed to Nevada Las Vegas, and Acheanpong has been key to the turnaround of a program that won only two games the season before they both arrived. Last season, Lynwood advanced to the Southern Section Division I-AA semifinals.

“Oh, we’ve definitely butted heads,” Acheanpong said. “And we still do.” But the coach added that after all the problems the two have handled internally, they’ve “finally gotten an understanding of each other” and reached an accord. “The main thing is that we’re both all about winning,” Acheanpong said.

Jefferson, who has averaged 26 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks this season, arrived at Lynwood as a sophomore with undeniable raw skills but little polish. He’d played playground basketball most of his life but very little organized ball. He attended Lawndale High as a freshman, but the newly opened school didn’t have a basketball team. He transferred to Lynwood seeking an opportunity to play in high school, but he was not prepared for the commitment required by a quality coach looking to turn around a program.

“It was difficult,” Jefferson said. “It was a lot of basketball at one time.”

Learning set plays was one thing, but discipline, conditioning and following orders were another for someone used to playing whenever he felt like it and without much control.

Organized teams, he soon found out, required two-a-day practices, early morning wake-up calls and a fair amount of discipline. And after years of playing in games where the only rule was “no blood, no foul,” Jefferson had to adjust to the sound of whistles.

“At first I was like, ‘I’m about to walk out of here, I’ll just quit,’ ” Jefferson said. “But something told me to stay.”

He has above-average quickness for a big man, good shooting range and handles the ball well enough to occasionally serve as point guard for Lynwood. His multifaceted skill level drew attention during summer camps and tournaments, and Jefferson rapidly rose on the national recruiting rankings lists. Arizona, Kansas, USC and Washington joined Las Vegas in the courtship process.

“Whatever we’ve shown him, he picks up real quick,” said Zan Mason, a former UCLA and Loyola Marymount standout who coaches the big men at Lynwood. “He’s always had the physical tools, we just needed to work on his attitude.”

Jefferson said some sage advice from a summer-team coach changed his approach to the game. They were talking about his future and his dream of making it to the NBA.

“He told me that the more I complain, the more money is coming out of my pocket,” Jefferson said.

If it took potential earnings to motivate him, then so be it. Whatever works. Jefferson has turned a page this season, Acheanpong said, and has become the team leader.

“When he first came here, he was very, very immature,” Acheanpong said. “But I think basketball has made a huge difference in his life.”

Jefferson credited the structured program at Lynwood for pointing him toward college. He said that before he arrived at the school, he was hanging around kids who “got in a lot of trouble.”

“I think about it all the time, how far I’ve come,” Jefferson said. “If not for basketball, there’s no telling what I would have done. Probably, I’d be heading down the wrong path.”

His only regret is that he didn’t join an organized team earlier.

“A lot of the great players have been playing since they were in third grade, and I think I’m better than most guys out there,” he said. “Sometimes I just wonder if I had been playing that long, how good would I be?”

He even grudgingly acknowledged that he sees the benefits of discipline.

“I understand all that now,” he said. “But it still makes me mad.”