College basketball history has featured many great players named Charles, from 1984 SEC POY Charles Barkley to 1991 SEC Female Athlete of the Year Daedra Charles to 2021 CUSA POY Charles Bassey. Another 1 who belong on the list is Hofstra legend Charles Jenkins: 3-time 1st-team All-CAA, 2-time CAA POY, and graduated as the 2nd-leading scorer in conference history behind Hall of Famer David Robinson. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Hofstra associate head coach Mike DePaoli about Jenkins’ incredible career.
In 2001 his older brother Kareem was shot and killed in Brooklyn: how close were the 2 of them, and how did Kareem’s death change Charles’ life? I am not totally familiar with all the ins and outs, but I know that Charles wore #22 because Kareem was 22 years old when he was shot.
In 2008 as a player at Hofstra, Charles was named conference ROY: how was he able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? I came in as a grad assistant after that season. He redshirted his freshman year because we had some very good guards at that time including 4-time all-CAA player Antoine Agudio. College basketball was different back then where you would stay 4 years at a school, so Charles spent his freshman year practicing against a group of tough guards.
In December 2010 he scored a career-high 40 PTS (including 31 in the 2nd half) in a 4-PT OT win over Binghamton: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? I saw him get going many nights: he was fun to watch.
He was named CAA POY in both 2010/2011: what did it mean to him to win such outstanding honors? It was unbelievable. He is 1 of the only 3-time winners of the Haggerty Award (along with Jim McMillian/Chris Mullin) as the best D-1 player in the New York metro area. People think that he was an overnight success, but he worked so hard to make himself the player he became. Most kids shy away from things they need to work on, but he attacked it and took it so seriously that some days we had to tell him to stay out of the gym. He is the easiest kid to root for that I ever coached. He was such a reluctant superstar that we almost had to push him out there to be “Batman”. I know he is very proud of those awards but he is also very humble. When it comes to attending games now, there are some former stars at other schools who will ask to sit courtside and get a standing ovation during a TV timeout, but not him.
In February 2011 he made a game-tying 3-PT shot with 2.7 seconds left in regulation and then a game-winning 35-foot 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 3-PT OT win over William & Mary (www.youtube.com/watch?v=nySUqQA53UQ): where does he rank among the most clutch players in school history? I was at Fordham that year but remember watching that game on TV. The year before he hit a game-winner at JMU. Late in the game, when the ball was in his hands, you felt that you would win, so he has to be up there among the most clutch players.
He graduated as the all-time leading scorer in school history and the 2nd-leading scorer in CAA history (behind David Robinson): did you realize at the time how prolific a player he was, and do you think that anyone will ever break his school record? The night he broke the school record, we were sitting with his family at the game to watch him do it. It was hard-earned so it was cool to see. I do not think his record will ever be broken: in today’s landscape, most players do not stay at 1 school for that long. I was a grad assistant on the staff, but being around him that day and seeing how he carried himself showed me the type of teammate he was.
The school retired his jersey prior to his final home game as a senior: where does that rank among the highlights of his career? That has to be up there and it was totally deserved: he is everything you want a student-athlete to be. There is a picture of him with his hands over his head looking up at his jersey: it was a special thing because he is Hofstra basketball. When 2-time conference POY/current coach Speedy Claxton would come back to the gym to visit, Charles would want to play against him.
In the summer of 2011 he was drafted by Golden State: did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? I was glued to my TV the whole night and was so happy for both him and his family. He was huddled up in a hotel room with his teammate Nat Lester and some other close friends/family. Speedy was a scout for the Warriors at the time, so it was cool to see the Hofstra family look out for his other. I assume that it was a lifelong dream that he was able to see come through.
He spent 2 years in the NBA and 10 more overseas: how proud are you of all his success? Uber-proud! We are hoping to get him at some point in the near future to join our staff. He led all rookies in AST/TO ratio during his 1st year after Steph Curry got hurt. He also had a really good run overseas: they still love him in Serbia due to the type of teammate he was.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? He is 1 of the all-time greats in school history, probably #2 behind Speedy. I tell people all the time that it is hard to find superstars who when you peel back the layers of the onion are an even better person on the inside. He was very humble/grateful, which comes from his family: his dad still comes to all our home games.
