Kris Jenkins becomes an all-around force for Villanova
Coming off the bench for Villanova in his first two seasons, Kris Jenkins usually stood behind the three-point arc and fired when open. He did his job relatively well, knocking down better than 37 percent of his shots from deep.
Coming off the bench for Villanova in his first two seasons, Kris Jenkins usually stood behind the three-point arc and fired when open. He did his job relatively well, knocking down better than 37 percent of his shots from deep.
However, his coach, Jay Wright, wanted to see a little more variety in his game inside the arc this season, and talked with Jenkins about it.
"We really only needed him as a three-point shooter" in his first two years, Wright said Monday. "So this year we needed him to do both. We recognized he was getting real comfortable standing around on the perimeter. So we talked to him about it and said, 'You've got to be a ballplayer, you've got to be complete, drive the ball, post up.' He did that."
Jenkins' improvement as an all-around offensive player has been dramatic in the last month, and Wright and the Wildcats are hoping he can continue that development when they open NCAA tournament play Friday in Brooklyn, N.Y., against UNC-Asheville in the NCAA South Regional.
In his last nine games, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound junior is averaging 20.3 points while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 45.1 percent on three-pointers. He has knocked down 32 triples during that stretch, eight coming during his career-high 31-point performance - the most by a Wildcat this season - against DePaul.
Compare that with Jenkins' numbers in 'Nova's first 16 games this season: a 9.6-point average, 36.6 percent from the field, 29.9 percent on three-pointers. His season average is now 13.3 points, second on the team behind Josh Hart.
"It was just staying the course, my teammates giving me confidence, and everybody in this program giving me confidence," Jenkins said. "It was just going out there and playing with a free mind, a clear mind, playing hard, playing tough on offense and defense because that's what our coaches preach here."
Jenkins can stretch the court as a three-point threat, but he has become good at pump-faking and driving by his defender, pulling up for a jumper or going to the rim. He also has the ability to post up smaller defenders inside.
In addition, he has improved at the defensive end and under the boards this season.
"My coaches and my teammates are pushing me to be a way better defender than I was when I first got here," he said. "I'm still getting better on defense. I'm not by any means done trying to grow as a player. I'm still learning."
A better body has aided Jenkins' progress. He weighed 255 pounds when he came to Villanova from Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and struggled to take the weight off. He dropped to 240 and is in much better shape.
"He's gotten to play for a couple of seasons in a new body and he's starting to learn how to use it," Wright said.
Jenkins said that Kobe Bryant was his "favorite player of all-time" and that he used the former NBA and Lower Merion High star as an example of how to improve as a basketball player.
"I admired how hard he worked," he said. "I know that he didn't get so good by just talking about it and watching it. So he had to go out and practice and work hard and have a good work ethic. So I just try to go out and work as hard as I can on all parts of my game."
That has added to Villanova's success, and Wright is happy.
"I think you're going to see even more of an upside from him as he continues here," he said.
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