When Elijah Redfern entered high school at Woodrow Wilson, many thought it to merely be a springboard to an eventual college career on the hardwood.
Wednesday afternoon inside the school auditorium with family, teammates and friends in attendance, the Class AAAA first team all-state guard made that thought a reality by signing a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Glenville State University.
“This day really means a lot to me. It means all of the hard work has kind of paid off to an extent,” Redfern said. “It also means there is more hard work to be done too. It is a big accomplishment”
While playing hoops at the next level seemed inevitable, the road to that dream was far from smooth.
Plagued by injuries at times, Redfern missed 19 games over his career, but never succumbed to the frustrations.
“I just had the determination to keep going and I knew God was on my side,” Redfern said. “I knew there were going to be highs and lows along the way. I just had to stay the course and stand my ground. I had to control everything that I could control.”
The toughest injury likely came early in the second game of his senior season when he was undercut on an in-bound pass. Falling hard to the ground, the Beckley guard suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him for eight games.
The injury also took him out of the running for the Player of the Year consideration.
“It was awful. It was awful,” Redfern said of the time he missed. “I had to sit and watch, praying games would get postponed due to weather.”
While admitting the stretch was miserable at times, Redfern also talked about the benefits he found during that period.
“I think it may have helped me out a little bit too. I was watching the game instead of playing it and seeing things from a different point of view,” Redfern explained. “I was able to pick apart the game from a different perspective.”
Undeterred once again, Redfern returned and helped lead the Flying Eagles back to the state basketball tournament for the second time in his career.
The former standout from Lester Elementary shined in the postseason.
The trip to the big dance for Beckley was secured with a regional victory over George Washington in dramatic fashion where Redfern scored 21 points in a 61-59 win.
“(Elijah) Redfern was the difference,” George Washington head coach Rick Greene said after the game. “He was dumping off, so we tried to take that away, then he hits shots. Even though we didn’t do some things well, (Beckley) beat us, especially down the stretch. They made more good plays than we have made. Redfern broke everything down tonight and we didn’t finish.”
Although he had several great games in the Woodrow uniform over his career, the GW win was clearly a defining moment.
“I just let the basketball show me what to do. I beat my man off the dribble and if their big commits to me, I have an easy dump off. If not, I have a layup at the rim. Just reading what the defense gives has been the biggest part of my success,” Redfern said that night.
Woodrow Wilson head coach Ron Kidd felt like the true Elijah Redfern was in action against the Patriots, helping the Flying Eagles snap a five-game skid to its regional nemesis on one of the biggest stages.
“I thought he really showed what he could do tonight. I feel like he is one of the top players in the whole state, leading us the way he should lead us,” Kidd said.
Although the state tournament game against No. 1 seed Spring Mills did not go his way, Redfern proved he belonged among the best players in the state with a 22-point performance against one of the top defensive teams in the state.
“Elijah Redfern, we could not stop. He scored more points on us than any team we have played all year,” Spring Mills head coach Luke Samples said. “Give him some credit. He got his. We made him work, but he is really good and he kept them in the game.”
Redfern ended his career averaging 17 points per game with a total of 1,282 points which is fifth all-time, just four points behind Anthony Scruggs.
He was also fourth all-time in steals with 149 and second in assists with 372, trailing only Gene Nabors.
Now Redfern will look to make a bigger splash with the Pioneers playing for for head coach Bob Bolen who won a national championship as the head coach at Mountain State University.
Bolen will be in his second season next year at Glenville.
“Me and coach Bolen have had a relationship for awhile now,” Redfern said. “He had kind of been recruiting me ever since he got the job. He was definitely a coach that wanted me and it’s a place that I feel comfortable going to.”
With Glenville losing some key players to graduation, Redfern could see the floor quicker than most freshman.
“Coach Bolen told me he felt like I could play at (the college level) last year,” Redfern said. “When I heard that it made me work as hard as I could because I knew there was a shot of me stepping in and being a winning piece to that program.”
Hard work has been the foundation of his career thus far and Redfern has no plans to ease up now.
“There is always room for improvement and things that you can get better at,” Redfern said. “I feel like I can be a little more active on the glass and get more consistent with the jumper. Just get more consistent overall.”
High school basketball is not quite over for the former Beckley star. Redfern will suit up Saturday afternoon as part of the Mid-State Automotive AAAA/A All-stars in the Little General Stores Scott Brown Classic at Shady Spring High School.
“It is going to be a good time and we will have a lot of fun,” Redfern said. “At the same time, we will compete a little. The last four years we have been going at each other, now we get to play together and go out on a good note.”
Gametime is set for 4 p.m. for boys game. The girls all-star game will tip at 2 p.m.