Give it up for Jenkins, the guy who didn't

Above the "22" on the jersey that will hang forever from Hofstra's rafters, it says simply "Jenkins." It really ought to say, "Don't give up," because that is what the retired basketball number now stands for. Take it from Charles Jenkins: He once tried giving up, and it didn't work.

He was just a kid when the brother he idolized, Kareem Albritton, was shot and killed at the age of 22. Jenkins was devastated and, as he said recently, he "just shut down."

He had to change schools before, at the urging of the rest of his family, he gave up on quitting. He became a good high school player for Springfield Gardens in Queens, marginally recruited. He chose Hofstra and pointedly asked to wear No. 22 in Albritton's memory.

And he never quit trying to get better. The star guard never let teammates give up, not even when the Hofstra men's basketball program looked to be hopelessly shattered with the departure of one coach after another last year. With his All-American-caliber season, he did as much as anyone to hold the Pride together.

Jenkins probably helped establish a career for Mo Cassara, the gifted but unlikely choice to coach the team. He gave everyone on the team a season they'll never forget - 20-10 overall, 14-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association and a good shot at the postseason. He helped athletic director Jack Hayes rebound after coach Tom Pecora left and replacement Tim Welch embarrassed himself out of a fine job with a DWI arrest.

So it was perfect that they retired Jenkins' No. 22 Saturday before he was finished wearing it. It was right to do it now, while the lessons are fresh, the "thank you" hits home and the delightfully surprising season he planted still is blooming.

"If there ever was a guy who deserved it, Charles was the one," Hayes said Saturday after a packed house rocked with cheers for a 79-60 win over Delaware - and for No. 22.

Retiring a live number never had been done before at Hofstra, which had set aside four previous men's basketball jerseys well after the players had left. Still, Duke has done it several times. Wake Forest did it for Tim Duncan while he was active. Hayes was right: If ever a Hofstra player deserved it, it was this guy.

Hayes' only worry was that honoring Jenkins might slight fellow seniors Greg Washington and Brad Kelleher, so he made sure each player's number was represented with a temporary sticker on the court. Nice touch. But no one has to apologize for the No. 22 on the wall.

"I'm proud of him,'' said Washington, his close friend since they became redshirt freshman roommates five years ago. "I don't think any other person could do what he did, and how he did it. He earned every bit of respect from this league and the nation and the basketball world."

It was a tastefully terrific day at Hofstra. No elaborate speeches, just a classy march to midcourt featuring Jenkins and the family members who encouraged him after Albritton's death. "It's surreal," said former small college power forward Charles Jenkins Sr., who thought back to the cold days at a Brooklyn park, coaching young Charles. "It's like, 'Wow, that happened to my son?' "

Jenkins Jr. is proud to know he will be part of the program forever. "I think this season, with everything that we've accomplished, this is going to put Hofstra back on the map," the potential NBA player said.

With 58.6 seconds left, with people wearing replica No. 22s cheering him like crazy, he walked off the court, put his head inside his own No. 22 and cried. He had one more thought about not having given up and said one more goodbye to someone special. "My brother," he said. "This was the last game me and him were going to be in this building together."

Yes, it was appropriate for Hofstra to honor Jenkins by retiring his No. 22 Saturday. Fact is, it always has been an honor for him to wear it.