Vanderbilt basketball star John Jenkins was one of the best shooters in program history. He's No. 20 in our VandySports 100, the countdown of 100-best Commodores we've covered.
Honors and awards: 2009-10 Freshman All-Southeastern Conference
2009-10 SEC Sixth Man of the Year
2009-10 SEC Freshman of the Week (three times)
2009-10 SEC Player of the Week
2010-11 SEC Player of the Week
2010-11 third-team All-American (AP and Rivals; fifth-team by Fox, honorable mention by the Associated Press)
2010-11 first-team All-SEC
2011 USA Basketball
2011-12 first-team All-SEC
2011-12 SEC Player of the Week
2012 SEC Tournament MVP
In the VU record book: Single-season points: seventh (624 in 2010-11)
Single-season field goal attempts: 458 in 2010-12
Single-season 3-pointers made: tied-first (134 in 2011-12)
Single-season 3-point percentage: fifth (.483 in 2009-10)
Single-season free-throw percentage: third (89.4 in 2010-11)
Career points: 10th (1,660)
Career 3-pointers made: second (306)
Career 3-point percentage: tied-third (.438)
Career free-throw percentage: fourth (85.6)
Before VU: Starred at Station Camp High in Gallatin, Tenn.,, where he was a two-time Tennessee Class AA Mr. Basketball and the state's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2008-09. Was the Tennessean Boys Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009. Was a PARADE and Reebok All-American as a senior. Averaged 42.3 points per game as a senior, second-best mark in state history, and scored 1,228 total points. Shot over 60 percent from the field and almost 50 percent from the 3-point line. Had 3,192 career points. Played in the Capital Classing and the Reebok All-American Game, scoring 27 points in the first. Was the leading scorer (17.8 ppg) at the 16th Annual NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va.,in the summer of 2008. Was a Nike Chosen Ones selection after his junior season, an honor that goes to the nation's top 50 players, regardless of class. Led the state of Tennessee in scoring as a junior, averaging 30.9 points per game.
Freshman (2009-10): Played 31 games, starting seven, for a 24-9 (12-4 SEC) team that fell at the buzzer to Murray St. in the NCAA Tournament. Averaged 23.1 minutes, 11.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in all games, and 10.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 23.7 minutes in SEC regular-season play. Shot 48.3 percent from 3, which, at the time, was the third-best in school history and 11th-best in SEC history. His 340 points is the 10th-most by a freshman at VU. Scored double figures in 20 of 31 games played. Won SEC Freshman of the Week after averaging 13.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in wins over MTSU and Florida; again with averages of 13.0/4.0, again when he averaged 17.5 points and 3.5 rebounds between the Manhattan and Southern Miss games, and a third time for late-February performances in wins over Georgia and Arkansas, when he averaged 15.5 points that week. Scored 25 points against Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Grabbed a season-high six rebounds against Manhattan. Dished out a season-high three assists against Manhattan and Southern Miss. Had two blocks at South Carolina.
Sophomore (2010-11): Played in 32 of 34 games, starting all 32 while missing two contests with a concussion. Led the SEC in scoring in league play and on the whole, averaging 19.5 points on a 23-11 (9-7) team that lost to Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In SEC regular-season play, Jenkins averaged 20.8 points and 3.4 rebounds, and led the team with a 36.1-minute average. His 624 points is the most by a sophomore in VU history. Scored in double-figures in every game, and had 20 or more 19 times, which led the SEC. Had at least 20 in 10 league regular-season games, including: Kentucky (32), Arkansas (24), Missouri (23) Alabama, Florida and Auburn (22), Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi St. (21; all in the second half vs. Georgia) and Ole Miss (20). Scored 27 vs. West Virginia as part of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament; led VU in scoring in all three games and made the all-tournament team.
Junior (2011-12): Again, led the SEC in scoring, this time, for a 25-11 (10-6) team that won the SEC Tournament and beat Harvard in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Started all 35 games, averaging 19.9 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent from the field. In SEC play, averaged 19.3 per game. Set a then-SEC record for 3-pointers in a season (since broken twice) with 134. Led the country in made 3s per game (3.9) and made three or more in 30 games. His 696 points was three shy of the school's single-season scoring mark. Scored 55 total in three games of the SEC Tournament on 16-of-41 shooting from the field, and 12-of-15 at the foul line, adding 11 rebounds. Scored 20 or more 17 times, and had double figures every game. Twenty-point games included North Carolina St. and Georgia (28), Louisville, Lafayette and Harvard (27), Miami-Ohio, Tennessee and Ole Miss (26), Oregon (24), Ole Miss (23), Davidson and Florida (22), Mississippi St. and South Carolina (21), Xavier, Alabama and LSU (20). Had eight rebounds vs. Alabama and seven vs. Xavier and Kentucky. Was 10-of-16 from the field vs. N.C. State and 9-of-15 against Louisville and Lafayette.
Post-VU: Jenkins left VU after his junior season and was picked 23rd in the NBA Draft by Atlanta. His NBA career, so far, has spanned 171 games and five teams; Jenkins hasn't appeared in an NBA game this season. On Feb. 26, Jenkins signed a contract in the Israeli Premier League.
Final thoughts, and why I ranked him where I did: Jenkins was a fairly one-dimensional player at Vanderbilt, but man, what a spectacular dimension that was. There are 15 basketball players in the VandySports 100; Jenkins (60.7 percent) is the only one to shoot an effective field goal percentage north of 60. His 70.2 true shooting percentage is also the best on the list (A.J. Ogilvy ranks second at 69.0). Yes, he did rebound some (3.5 per 40 minutes on his career) and though never known for defense, he did chip in, on average, with either a block or a steal per game. His biggest offensive negative: more turnovers (130) than assists (111).
Jenkins was also consistent. He missed just two games in his career and during his sophomore and junior seasons, he scored in double figures every game.
His contributions also mattered. Though the NCAA Tournament résumé was also thin, the Commodores went 72-31 and 31-17 in the league in his career.
It's always been easy to take shooters for granted at Vanderbilt until you don't have them (case in point, the last two seasons). Jenkins was one of the best in school history and that earns him a spot in the top 20.
