WASHINGTON - For a second straight year, the Washington Wizards' draft hopes were contingent upon a high school player, but this time the control was out of their hands.

The Wizards, who took a high school player, Kwame Brown, with last year's first overall pick, were left waiting to see what happened with Amare Stoudemire, the lone high school player taken in the first round of this year's draft.

Once Stoudemire was taken ninth last night by the Phoenix Suns, the Wizards' war room erupted with happiness, as team officials realized they would get a player they coveted.

That player became Jared Jeffries, a 6-foot-9 forward who led Indiana to the national championship game, then left the Hoosiers after his sophomore year.

"We were hoping he would be there for us," said Wizards coach Doug Collins. "We were concerned about how the draft was going to fall. He was so ecstatic. He wanted to be here so badly and be a part of this organization as we continue to grow. I just love young players who want to play, and he appears to be a player who wants to play and wants to continue to get better."

Said Jeffries: "This is where I expected to be. There were some situations that could have played out where I could have gone higher, but I don't think they were the right fits. They were looking for more power forward types and, as you see, a lot of the power forward types went higher than me. But this is a situation where I think over the long term I can succeed and have a successful career."

Jeffries, who averaged 15 points and 7.6 rebounds and was the Big Ten Player of the Year last season, likely will get playing time at both small and power forward, being thrown into a mix of returning players at those posts, including Brown, Etan Thomas and Bobby Simmons.

"That's what really drove me to want to play for a team such as this," said Jeffries, who joins former Maryland star Juan Dixon as a first-round pick by the Wizards. "I wanted to go somewhere where I could be in the right situation and have a chance to come in and play the three and four positions, and kind of succeed at that."

Said Collins: "You have to create a winning environment in the locker room, and we feel like we've added two terrific winners, in Jared, who got to the Final Four, and Juan, who was the ACC Player of the Year and arguably the best player in college basketball."

With its two second-round picks, Washington selected Alabama guard/forward Rod Grizzard and Spanish native Juan Carlos Navarro. Grizzard is recovering from a leg injury. Navarro is under contract in a Spanish league and is not expected to join the Wizards this season.