Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: "Don't doubt me"

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson hasn't had a good time so far this preseason. He hasn't scored in the last two games and sprained his ankle Saturday afternoon in Albany.  He says he'll be fine.  Just add it to his list of challenges to overcome.

In fact, as part of his recurring diary, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tells Tim Bontemps about how people have always doubted him, but that he's ready to prove them wrong in the only way he can, with hard work.

"I don’t know why people have always doubted me. But one thing I’ll say that I’ve always noticed is hard work and how hard a guy plays on the court. If you can’t notice that, I don’t think you really know basketball. If somebody is out there diving on the floor for loose balls, if somebody is being like Dennis Rodman … I would say those things mean a lot to a team."

RHJ talks as well about his jump shot ... which he practices for hours a day, hundreds of shots.

Now it’s my jump shot that’s being doubted. But I know it is going to improve because people don’t know how much work I have put in to develop it. It’s all about going from Step A to Step B to Step C, and about it getting better each day I’m working on it.

It’s definitely progressing. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Coach Jay Humphries working on it. He’s been trying to help me with repetition and focus and finding that rhythm that I need and I’m supposed to have on a consistent basis.

At the end of the day, he says it's all about the trust of the coaching staff.

They’ll expect you to have the capability to do things, that’s when things start to go a lot easier. Then when they kick it out to you, they trust you to make the right play, whether it be knocking the shot down or finding the open man. They trust you doing that. So I think it takes a little bit of time, but as the days and time go on, I’m building their trust.

Expect the Nets to update his medical status soon.

• Hollis-Jefferson: I plan to prove doubters wrong with hard work - Tim Bontemps - New York Post