City of Basketball Love

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
--

When Kris Jenkins was asked about what scoring 1,000 career points meant to him, a look of confusion rolled across the three faces seated at Villanova’s press conference.

Jenkins, a 6-foot-6 senior forward who passed the career scoring threshhold on a free throw late in the first half in Villanova’s 82-57 win over Penn, had no idea that he reached such an accomplishment.

“He got 1,000 tonight? Congrats,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said as he patted Jenkins on the back, while Josh Hart sat nodding his head still taking in the news he just heard.

“What does it mean?,” Jenkins said in response to the question. “Not that much.”

In a Villanova career that is flooding with accomplishments, from Big 5 and Big East titles, to being named the Most Outstanding Player at the South Regional in the NCAA Tournament last season, to knocking down what is considered by most to be the biggest shot in college basketball history -- a three at the buzzer to give Villanova the National Championship last April -- there are very few things Jenkins hasn’t done wearing a Villanova uniform.

Scoring 1,000 points was one of them, until tonight.

After Penn’s bench was called for a technical with 2.6 seconds remaining in the first half, Wright sent Jenkins to the line with 998 career points.

Jenkins, a career 82.7 percent shooter from the line, drained both shots and with the second make became the 63rd 1,000 point scorer in Villanova’s history.

While scoring 1,000 points is a great accomplishment and one that most players fixate on accomplishing from the start of their collegiate careers, Jenkins is more focused on what lies ahead.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, so (I'm) just focused on the next game,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins, who scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from long range, has grown immensely since first stepping on campus four years ago.

From averaging 4.1 points per game as a freshman to 6.3 as a sophomore, to 13.6 as a junior and now averaging a career-best 13.7, it’s his personal growth that has made accomplishing this feat possible.

But, according to the Upper Marlboro, Md. native, none of this would’ve been possible without those who came before him.

“I’ve had a lot of great teammates so from freshman year all the way up until now. A lot of credit goes to them, my first couple of years, I was just trying to learn things,” Jenkins said. “I learned from great guys like James Bell, Tony Chennault, Jayvaughn (Pinkston) and Darrun Hilliard and last year with Arch (Ryan Arcidiacono) and Daniel (Ochefu). You know, playing alongside Josh (Hart) and Darryl (Reynolds), coming in with those guys and when we graduate together it will be something special, but just staying in the moment, getting better each day, that’s it.”

While scoring 1,000 might not mean a ton to Jenkins right now, he admits that one day, when his playing career is over, that achieving this milestone within the confines of the Cathedral of College Basketball might carry some significant meaning.

“I haven’t even had time to think about it,” Jenkins said. “Maybe when I’m done playing looking back on it I’ll be like, ‘Wow that was really cool scoring 1,000 points and scoring 1,000 at The Palestra,' but right now I’m worried about the next game.”

~~~

'Nova Notes

-- After missing the last four games due to knee inflammation, it's a possibility that we see Villanova guard Phil Booth back in action on Saturday against St. Joe's, and if not then, it will definitely be in the near future. "I would say possible for Saturday, probable for the game after that," Wright said. "That’s my guess right now. It’s nothing major, we’re just being really conservative this year, this early in the season. It was a little inflammation and we figure it’s going to be a long year, hopefully, and we want to get everything perfect before we bring him back.”

-- As for redshirt freshman forward Tim Delaney, when he will return is a little more uncertain, as he has been battling a nagging hip injury; last year, he had two hip surgeries that cost him the entire season, and now another year is in doubt. "(Delaney) is more of a question," Wright said. "We’re not really sure what's in there. He’s getting an MRI tomorrow and we’re not really sure what the problem is there."