UNLV Rebels guard David Jenkins Jr. (5) is guarded by Benedictine Mesa Redhawks Nick Sessions (42) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center Thursday Jan. 21, 2021.
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 | 2 a.m.
There was much fanfare when David Jenkins committed to UNLV two summers ago. As one of the top transfers on the market, he was expected to bring his elite shooting and scoring ability to UNLV, and given his previous experience under coach T.J. Otzelberger, most expected him to come out of the gate strong once he became eligible.
It hasn’t quite worked out that smoothly this season. But then again, what has?
Jenkins got off to a poor start, scoring seven, four and 12 points in UNLV’s first three games — all losses. The long-distance specialist shot just 7-of-32 in those contests, including 6-of-23 from beyond the arc, making the situation seem even more dire.
And when Jenkins finally did break out, knocking down seven 3-pointers and pouring in 25 points in a win at Kansas State on Dec. 5, the season suddenly came to a halt. UNLV was ravaged by a COVID-19 outbreak and didn’t play again for more than a month.
For Jenkins, things couldn’t have started much worse. Now, with just 12 games left in the regular season, UNLV needs him to turn the corner soon.
Since UNLV resumed play on Jan. 7, Jenkins is scoring 16.4 points per game over five contests. It’s not the 19.7 points he posted in his last year at South Dakota State, but it’s much better than we saw earlier in the season.
Consistency is still eluding Jenkins. He averaged 20 points in two close games at Colorado State, then scored eight points in both games against lowly New Mexico, shooting 5-of-18 in the process.
After scoring 20 against overmatched Benedictine Mesa on Thursday, Jenkins said he feels physically fit at this point in the season, despite the stops and starts.
“I feel good and I think the team feels good as well,” Jenkins said. “In practice we get after it every single day. We don’t take days off. I feel like conditioning, we’re good. Mentally and physically, we’re good.”
Perhaps the best news for Jenkins is that his 3-point stroke seems to be coming around. After shooting so erratically to start the year, he has hit 11 3-pointers over the last four games, connecting at a rate of 45.8%.
For the season Jenkins is now up to 39.7% from 3, the best mark on the team. And he’s trending toward the standard he set in his final campaign at SDSU, when he made an outrageous 45.3% of his triples.
UNLV is going to need Jenkins to shoot with that kind of accuracy against Utah State when the Aggies come to the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday and Wednesday. With USU center Neemias Queta locking down the paint — the Aggies block 26.3% of all opponents’ shots inside the arc — UNLV will have to make long jumpers to compete.
Jenkins will have to do that while taking on some of the team’s duties at point guard, as he has since starter Marvin Coleman was lost for the season. Jenkins has split the position with freshman Nick Blake, and though neither are natural point guards, Jenkins believes they are handling the job.
“I think we’re doing solid,” Jenkins said. “I ask Marvin all the time what can I do better at the point guard spot? And he always tells me just make sure you command the team and tell guys positive things.”
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
