Hofstra Magazine

Men’s Basketball: Jenkins Leads On and Off the Court

By Brian Bohl

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Charles Jenkins racked up the awards at nearly the same prodigious pace as he compiled baskets. As a sophomore, the Hofstra guard averaged 19.7 points per game. In becoming just the second Pride player to reach 1,000 career points in just his second season, Jenkins won the Haggerty Award as the best player in the New York metropolitan area. But the hardware didn’t exactly earn quiet reverence from his teammates. Not even a first team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection and three conference Player of the Week awards prevented the Queens, New York, native from receiving some good-natured ribbing.

“Cornelius Vines and Nathaniel Lester always give me a hard time with the awards,” Jenkins said with a laugh. “Sometimes they mess up the name, or if I do something wrong they’ll say, ‘oh, you’re the Haggerty winner?’ But it’s all love from them.” Jenkins smiled before turning serious when discussing Hofstra’s chances for its first CAA championship. The 6-3, 220-pound guard said his past accomplishments didn’t assuage his angst after Hofstra ended the 2008-09 campaign with a heartbreaking 52-51 loss to Old Dominion in the CAA Tournament’s second round. “Once the games begin, everything goes in the past,” Jenkins said. “Last year’s accolades were good, but this is a new year, and my stats are back to zero.”

Jenkins roomed with former Pride leading scorer Loren Stokes during his redshirt freshman season and now is the unquestioned leader of a team that features six freshmen along with returning players like Lester, Vines, Greg Washington and Miklos Szabo. After learning from prolific scoring guards like Stokes and Antoine Agudio, Jenkins said Hofstra’s chemistry is the best since he arrived in Hempstead. “I’m actually staying in the same dorm Loren stayed in,” Jenkins said. “My door is always open for any questions or if they need a ride somewhere. I’m always there for them because I know what it’s like to be a freshman.”

Tom Pecora, the team’s head coach, is trusting Jenkins to be assertive for a team that has just two seniors on the roster. Like Stokes, Jenkins said he was a quiet leader, but is finding his voice. “I’m starting to get used to it, but coach says I need to be more vocal,” he said. Jenkins also leads the group away from the court. The former Springfield Gardens standout said many evenings turn into impromptu social events for the entire team. “This year, we’re more like a family,” Jenkins said. “It’s always about eight of us hanging out, going to the movies. After study hall, we meet up to eat. It’s just a different situation for me. I never really had that before. Everywhere we go, it’s the whole team walking around together.” Camaraderie only goes so far. The Pride completed a 21-11 season and yet finished short of an NIT bid for a second straight year. While winning the CAA would mean an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Pecora said he’s looking for Jenkins to continue his maturation and for a young team to gain some valuable experience in the opening five games before the conference portion of the schedule commences.

Pecora was a Hofstra assistant coach when NBA guard and Hofstra alumnus Speedy Claxton made his collegiate mark. Pecora then coached Stokes and Agudio and said Jenkins is similar to the program’s other productive guards. “He’s a complete player and very coachable,” Pecora said. “Charles lives in the gym. One time last season I literally had to tell him to stop coming to the gym at night and shooting because I thought he was exhausting himself. He understands there are still things he needs to improve, and that’s what makes him a special player.”

Hofstra opened up the new season against No. 1 Kansas, a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2009. While Hofstra lost the game, Jenkins still saw the positive side of playing an elite team. “It was a great experience because we can learn from it,” Jenkins said about matching up with the Jayhawks. “We might not play other teams as athletic or as physical as they were against us, so it’s only going to help us in the long run.” The Pride started the previous campaign against nationally ranked Clemson. Hofstra lost to the Tigers before winning the next eight. Jenkins said playing a national power carries a residual benefit for the rest of the season. “Clemson was a great opportunity because they pressed us hard, and it just prepared us for playing teams in our league and in other leagues,” Jenkins said. Jenkins averaged 15 points per game as a freshman, picking up the CAA Rookie of the Year Award as well as Metropolitan New York Rookie of the Year honors. He improved his production from one year to the next, though he said statistics aren’t driving him for his junior season.

“Having all the accolades and losing is worthless,” Jenkins said. “I don’t want to be a part of a losing team. My freshman year was a frustrating time when we were 12-18, and that’s something I never want to experience again in this program.” Pecora said Jenkins sets the example that could lift Hofstra to the upper echelon of a competitive conference.