Jenkins passes 2,000 mark as Hofstra wins
Amid all the upheaval the Hofstra men's basketball program has experienced since the departure of coach Tom Pecora to Fordham, senior Charles Jenkins has remained a study in class, cool and consistency - in short, the epitome of the Pride.
On the night Jenkins topped the 2,000-point plateau and passed Speedy Claxton to move into sixth on the school's all-time scoring list with 2,016 points, he was the picture of a team player in Hofstra's 71-58 victory over Manhattan.
In the first half last night at Draddy Gym, Jenkins took only three shots, scored five points and worked to get his teammates involved. Australian transfer Brad Kelleher, playing his second game, scored all 14 of his points and Fordham transfer Mike Moore had 12 of his 20 in the half as Hofstra (6-4) took a 42-29 lead at intermission.
But when the Jaspers (2-9) put together an 18-6 run to cut Hofstra's lead to 53-50 with 7:30 left, well, it was time for Charles to take charge. Jenkins buried two three-pointers from the top of the arc on consecutive possessions to trigger an 18-1 run that pushed the lead to a high of 20 points at 71-51 with 2:39 left. He also made a steal and a fast-break layup in the middle of that stretch and closed it with two foul shots to total 10 of his 21 points in crunch time.
The last foul shot pushed him one point past Claxton, but Jenkins said that wasn't on his mind. "Winning is more important,'' he said. "The milestone is a good accomplishment, but most importantly, we responded from the last loss .''
The transition at Hofstra has been painful. Original coaching choice Tim Welsh resigned after a DUI incident and was replaced by Mo Cassara. Key players transferred out, Moore transferred in and Kelleher finally became eligible a week ago after waiting more than a year.
Through it all, Jenkins has been the bedrock. "Charles not only is a great player but he's a calming influence on me and everybody on the team,'' Cassara said. "He cares about this university and this program. He lost his phone for two days, and I felt like I'd lost my best friend. We had to communicate through Twitter.''
Jenkins' quiet time continued in the first half. He was content to defer to Kelleher, who shot 4-for-5 from three-point range in the half, and Moore, who finished with 10 rebounds. They will be important as secondary scoring options this season.
"Charles is willing to share and help develop other guys who lack experience,'' Cassara said.
"It's been fun,'' Jenkins said of the challenge of getting to know a whole new team before he leaves. "My days are numbered. I'm not worried about anything except getting better.''
When the Jaspers' George Beamon (22 points) of Roslyn hit a layup to make it a three-point game, Jenkins knew what he had to do. "Coach was in my ear telling me to be aggressive,'' Jenkins said. "We were able to get the zone to shift, and I was able to get those [threes].''
With 1:37 left, Jenkins rolled an ankle and left the game, but he said he will be fine by Sunday when he has to "walk.'' That is to say Jenkins is graduating, which might be his proudest moment at Hofstra.
