Shot goes cold, so Arizona's Jefferson becomes stopper.(Chicago Tribune)

MINNEAPOLIS_A McDonald's All-American coming out of Phoenix's Moon Valley High School, Richard Jefferson was originally projected as a scorer. But when his jump shot went awry this season_he had his lowest career shooting percentage from the floor (.477) and from beyond the three-point arc (.312)--Jefferson found a new role.

"I had to find a way to stay on the floor," he said.

His new role was solidified in a Jan. 18 victory over USC in Tucson, Ariz., when Jefferson did a nice job covering the Trojans' David Bluthenthal.

"Coach [Lute] Olson went out and told the national media, `Richard Jefferson is the defensive player we need,'" Jefferson said. "He knew what he was doing. He called me out. The irony now is that I get yelled at more about my defense than before I was the defensive stopper."

The 6-foot-7-inch Jefferson doesn't get yelled at very often. He limited UCLA's Jason Kapono to four points on 2-of-14 shooting Jan. 20 and Illinois' Frank Williams to nine points on 3-of-15 shooting in the Midwest Regional final. On Monday night he's expected to be assigned to Duke's Shane Battier.

Arenas update: Arizona guard Gilbert Arenas sustained a sprained shoulder in a collision in Saturday night's semifinal. "Right now I'm a little sore," said Arenas, who planned to test the shoulder in a closed Metrodome practice Sunday. "I've been getting ice and massages. Right now I'm favoring it a little bit because I don't want to do anything to hurt me from playing [Monday]."

Good field, no hit: In 1991, Duke won a pair of early-round tourney games ...