By Rashed Mian
Every game starts the same for sophomore guard Charles Jenkins from Queens, NY, who is the leading scorer on the Pride. While the fans are sitting restlessly with their eyes fixated on the hardwood court and Jenkins’ teammates are thinking about what they have to do to win the game, Jenkins puts himself in a very different place. This is the same place Jenkins has put himself since he was 11-years-old.
In this place, Jenkins is oblivious to everything else around him. He walks to the end of the bench, takes a knee, puts his jersey that reads number 22 over his face and says a prayer.
When Jenkins was 11-years-old, his brother Kareem was shot and killed in Brooklyn. Kareem Jenkins was 22-years-old when he was murdered, so Charles Jenkins wears the number 22 in honor of his brother. Jenkins doesn’t know why his brother was shot, but on that day Jenkins lost his best friend.
“He was a big part of my family,” Jenkins said. “He was the backbone of the family, everybody loved him, and he was like my best friend.”
Jenkins recalls what happened at the hospital when he got the news that his brother had passed away. “I remember going to sit down and I turned around and my Aunts and everybody was all over the place crying… it was big, it hurt me a lot,” said Jenkins.
After the death of his brother it was hard for Jenkins to get back on his feet. “I couldn’t really function,” said Jenkins, “a lot of things didn’t have much meaning.”
Jenkins began to turn it around and although he didn’t have his best friend around to give him advice, he still had his parents. His father (who played collegiate basketball himself) saw the talent that his son had and pushed him to work hard.
“My dad always told me that basketball could take me anywhere in the world that I wanted to be. So I figured this was the only thing I was good at, I never played any other sport; I played basketball all my life. I figured this was my only ticket to get a free education and to play all around the world,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins played high school basketball at Springfield High in Rosedale. Hofstra recruited him there and Jenkins picked Hofstra because of their honesty towards him.
“Hofstra was the most honest program that recruited me,” said Jenkins. They told me I was going to red-shirt, and one day this was going to be my team.”
Red-shirting was tough for Jenkins because he was used to playing all the time at Springfield High. “Red-shirting was tough because coming out of high school I played every minute of every game and red-shirt is vice-versa. It was frustrating for the most part, but I took it as a learning experience,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins, 19, who turns 20 later this month, finally got his chance last season. He averaged 15 points per game and 4 rebounds per game, and was named CAA Rookie of the Year. Jenkins scored in double figures in 27 of the 29 games played, and ended the season on a hot streak by scoring in double figures in the last 15 games of the season. On top of receiving the award for rookie of the year in the conference, Jenkins was also named to the CAA All-Rookie team.
Last year the team was under .500 with a (12-18) record and a conference record of only (8-10). Although Jenkins had a stellar freshman campaign, they just couldn’t put it all together last season. Everything has changed though, from last season to now.
Jenkins is now the captain of the team that Hofstra promised would one day be his, but Jenkins doesn’t like to talk about himself because he knows it’s a total team effort this season. Prior to Wednesday’s game at Georgia State University, Hofstra has an overall record of (18-9) and they are (10-6) within the Continental Athletic Association.
Hofstra has already won six more games then last season, with three guaranteed games left, and Jenkins believes the turnaround is all due to how close the team got over the summer and prior to the upcoming season.
This summer I spent a lot of time with my teammates, you know, getting a feel for them and how they like to play. So it was easier for me to adjust to this year as far as being a leader. I know everybody like the back of my hand,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins and his teammates have gained a bond that is hard to come by. He has his own family that comes to watch every home game, but he has another family that he has grown very close too.
“We’re a lot more of a family this year,” said Jenkins. “Not to say last year we weren’t close but this year we’re closer… us coming close as a team is helping this program.”
The other reason Hofstra has 18 wins on the season is largely due to the success of Jenkins. He is one of only seven players in the country averaging at least 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. His 18.6PPG is second in the CAA this season to Erick Maynor of Virginia Commonwealth (23.1PPG), and prior to Wednesday’s game, Jenkins was only 43 points away from 1,000 career points.
Jenkins acknowledged that he feels good about what he’s been able to do this season, but he doesn’t like to pay attention to the accolades. “Coach (Pecora) tells me to never get satisfied… the only thing I worry about is wins and losses. Coming off of last year, how disappointing our season was, we just want to win as much as we can.”
Jenkins isn’t only contributing by knocking down jump shots and lay-ups in the lane. In his last three games, Jenkins is averaging 10 assists per game, and that is part of him being a better distributor to his teammates. Jenkins knows when he gets into the lane and draws a defender away from the perimeter he can trust his teammates to knock down the open jumper.
That trust is what has made Jenkins the leader of this team. Like any family you have to trust that somebody will have your back at all times, and Jenkins knows he can trust his teammates, and he hopes he and his teammates can take that new found chemistry to Richmond, VA, where the CAA Championships are held.
“I was in my car talking to a friend and I just had images in my head of us running onto the court, and everyone smiling,” said Jenkins. Its there, right there, the opportunity to do it and its up to all of us… it’s big, it’s our chance right now.”
So now every time Jenkins gets up from his knee, after saying a prayer to his brother, he knows that when he turns around, there wont be sadness or anger. In front of him is his new family, and he is their backbone.