It is rare to see Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford beam so openly about a player. He is a hard-nosed coach that does not suffer a ton of nonsense. He wants to get the most of his players and his team and is going to stick to the base details.
He values solid work habits and attention to details. The kind of guys he likes are the lunch-pale, hard-hat players. The guys who will do the dirty work and defend at a high level. That is the way to earn Clifford’s trust.
As the season wore on, whenever Steve Clifford got a question about Amile Jefferson, the Magic’s two-way signee, you could see him beaming.