Thanks to dad, Jenkins does it the right way

Mack Sports Complex was jammed to its capacity of 5,050 fans, most of whom came to honor Charles Jenkins on the day he set the Hofstra men's basketball career scoring record. He tried his best to give them a poetic ending, but his unselfish nature got the best of him.

With Hofstra trailing by a point in the last 40 seconds of a game it had no business winning while being outrebounded 47-24 by Drexel, Jenkins drove to the basket. But instead of going up and drawing the foul, he dished to Greg Washington under the hoop for what would have been an easier shot - except that he lost the handle and was tied up. The ball went over to Drexel on the possession arrow.

With 19 points, Jenkins pushed his career total to 2,280, four more than Antoine Agudio's previous record, and delivered a brilliant stat line: 5-for-11 from the field, 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, five rebounds, eight assists, one block and one steal in 39 minutes. But at the peak of his career, the only numbers that mattered to Jenkins were: Drexel 65, Hofstra 60.

"As a player, I've done everything I can statistically,'' Jenkins said. "I just want to get Ws.'' The record, he said, "really doesn't mean much now. If I had 14 points and we won, I'd be the happiest kid in the gym.''

The beauty of Charles Jenkins is that you know he meant every modest word. That Hofstra had a full house and somehow has saved a basketball season that appeared destined for disaster after the departure of coach Tom Pecora, the resignation of successor Tim Welsh after a DWI arrest and the transfer of former starters Halil Kanacevic and Chaz Williams is a tribute to Jenkins' leadership.

He bonded with new coach Mo Cassara and not only has held a revised team together but has led it to a shocking 14-8 record and into Colonial Athletic Association contention with an 8-3 conference mark.

Next to his son's graduation on Dec. 19, that's the greatest source of pride for Charles Jenkins Sr.

"It was very tough, but he's grown up throughout this period,'' the Hofstra star's father said Saturday of the changes his son has endured in the past nine months. "Even though it was hurtful - he definitely misses the old guys - it gave him the chance to grow as a person and a man.''

As tight as Jenkins has become with Cassara, his father said he has maintained a relationship with Pecora, who now is coaching Fordham. That's really a sign of the respect those who know Jenkins have for him.

Jenkins entered yesterday's game as the sixth-leading scorer in the country with a 23.5 average and obviously is going to have a shot at an NBA career, even though it means a move to point guard.

That was the position he played in high school and on AAU teams, his father said, but the exciting thing for an NBA coach is knowing the kind of team-first player he's getting in Jenkins. He's not concerned with fattening his scoring average, just doing what it takes to win.

Charles Sr., who played Division III basketball at Virginia Wesleyan, was his son's first coach, teaching him to play the right way and respect the game.

"I was very tough on him,'' Jenkins' dad said. "I told him every other coach would be easier than I was.''

Was the father as good as the son? "No,'' Charles Sr. said, "but don't tell him that.''