Shun Shines upon Senior Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Adjustment may have been the most prominent word in Ohio State forward Shun Jenkins’ life a year ago as a junior college transfer on the 2002-03 Buckeye basketball squad. Not only was Jenkins faced with making the transition from the junior college level to the challenges of Division I basketball, but he also was posed with the task of adapting to the nation’s second largest university after attending tiny Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss. At the same time, Jenkins was faced with the task of acclimating himself with the Great Lakes region after spending his entire life in the South as a native of Albany, Ga.
“It was a huge difference coming from a small junior college to a campus like Ohio State,” Jenkins, a sport and leisure studies major, said. “It is like a huge city. I was used to walking to all my classes (at Itawamba), but here you have to take the bus to class and adjust to other big city parts as well. It took some time to adjust, but I love it now. Coming to Ohio State has been a great learning experience.”
All of the factors – new school, new team, new region of the country – compounded upon Jenkin’s most difficult hurdle when his initial season as a Division I player was put on hold after suffering a broken little finger on his left hand in Ohio State’s exhibition finale last season against the Harlem Globetrotters.
With the injury, Jenkins was posed with one of the most difficult time periods of his athletic career, forced to deal with five weeks of inactivity in an entirely new environment hundreds of miles away from his family.
“It was tough,” Jenkins, who in technical terms suffered a comminuted fracture of the fifth metatarsal, said. “Especially since I was still able to run and jump like everyone else on the team but I could not play because of my hand. That was the most frustrating part. I had a couple good exhibition games and then all of a sudden I was unable to play. That made things even more frustrating.”
Also playing a factor in Jenkins’ anguish was the fact that he is a 6-foot-6-inch, 240-pound presence who was debilitated by an injury to of all things, his “pinky” finger. “You never think a pinky (finger) is that important to playing basketball,” Jenkins, who officially missed eight games while injured, said. “I never would have guessed a pinky finger would hold me out for that long. It is the type of injury you would think at first all you need is a tape job and you are good to play, but that was not the case with my injury.
“You see guys hurt their knees, ankles and other typical injuries and miss time,” Jenkins continued. “That is what made it more frustrating. I was able to do the things the other guys did, but was still stuck on the sideline.”
Fortunately for Jenkins, he had someone in his corner who endured a similar situation during her career as a Division I player. Just a phone call away was Jenkins’ sister Subricca Smith, who also played junior college ball before landing a scholarship to play at Georgia Southern University. Subricca also suffered the same fate as her brother, succumbing to injury before ever setting foot on the court as a D-I player.
“I tore ligaments in my knee the first day they rolled balls onto the court for practice. It was awful,” Smith said.
Dealing with the injury was a harsh period for Smith, who had played basketball nearly everyday of her life.
“It affected me a lot,” Smith said. “I had played basketball everyday since junior high. I could hardly get by from day-to-day without being able to play. I was stubborn and really hard to deal with at that point. The trainers and coaches had a real tough time with me, but it turned out to be a humbling experience and a very important time in my life. It taught me to cherish what I had. I was the first person in the family to go to college and had the chance to expand my life in so many ways. That injury helped me put things into perspective.”
Knowing the hardship she endured during her recovery period at Georgia Southern, Smith tried to use her experience as an aid in advising her brother on how to deal with his injury in the most productive manner.
“I tried to pass the message to Shun when he got hurt last season,” Smith, who led her squad in scoring in each of her two seasons in junior college, said. “I told him not to lose his focus and remember his real purpose in getting an education. I told him to enjoy what he has and not to lose focus on his goals.”
Even before her brother’s injury, Smith served as an advisor to Jenkins as the siblings typically speak at least twice a week.
“We talk a lot,” Jenkins said. “My sister is my guide in many parts of my life. Her advice helps me a lot. She played basketball in college. I know she has been there before and I listen to what she says.”
Smith assumes numerous roles during the weekly conversations with her brother.
“Within the first couple words I can tell whether I need to take the role of adviser or simply offer encouragement,” Smith, who helped Georgia Southern claim the Southern Conference championship and a bid to the 1993 NCAA Tournament her senior season, said. “I think Shun is still grasping the fact he is a Division I player. I always knew he had the potential for D-I and I try to pass on that he needs to keep things in perspective and remember what his priorities are. The most important thing to him is helping his team win and if that means scoring two points and contributing in other ways then he will do that. I just try to tell him that it is in him to compete and to do everything he can to help the team.”
One way Jenkins contributed in his first season with the Buckeyes was on the “glass” as he tied fellow senior big man Velimir Radinovic for the team lead in rebounds per game with 6.1, which is quite a feat considering Jenkins battles much taller competition in the paint at just 6-6. But, what Jenkins lacks in height he more than compensates with his physical approach to the game.
“Rebounding is about beating your opponent to position,” Jenkins, who grabbed 55 of his 146 rebounds last season on the offensive end, said. “I try to out-physical them underneath the basket. I try to use my strength as best I can and box out the taller guys and be the first off the floor going after the ball.”
Smith, a physical player in her own right at Georgia Southern, also is able to offer advice on playing a strong game.
“I was one who won the hustle-type awards on my team,” Smith said. “I played physically and led my junior college team in rebounding both seasons. Shun has the capability to dominate down low, too. The other guys may be taller, but he is a physical player and can utilize his athleticism to control the paint. I think he now has fully adjusted to Division I and completely recovered from his injury last season. He is ready to step into a zone and contribute even more this season.”
Radinovic has had the opportunity to see Jenkins develop in a much closer light as a teammate.
“Shun is our workhorse,” Radinovic, the Ohio State captain and third-year starting center, said. “He plays intense and is strong as an ox. His quickness also plays a role and actually combines with his shorter frame as an advantage against the bigger guys in the league. His height helps him gain better position and gain an advantage in leverage.”
Former players in the National Basketball Association like Charles Barkley and Charles Oakley are prime examples of shorter players who utilized power and athleticism to win NBA rebounding crowns. Jenkins uses current NBA all-star and two-time league leader in rebounding Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons as his emulative model.
“Ben Wallace is only 6-8 and goes up against much taller players in the NBA, but has led the league in rebounding the last two seasons,” Jenkins, who averaged 10 rebounds a game his senior year at Albany High School, said. “He relies on his strength and physical play, which is the same way I play. Rebounding is about being tenacious and wanting the ball more than your opponents.”
That tenacity was on display shortly after Jenkins returned from his hand injury. After seeing limited minutes toward the conclusion of the non-conference schedule, Jenkins thrived in the opening quarter of the Big Ten slate as he reached double figures in points in three of the first four conference games, while recording at least seven rebounds in each contest. The four-game stretch, where Jenkins averaged in excess of 14 points and nine rebounds per outing, was highlighted by a career-best 22-point effort in an 81-69 win over then-No. 15 Indiana Jan. 11 at Value City Arena. Also included in that span were back-to-back double-double performances with a 12-point, 10-rebound game against Michigan and a 16-point, 11-rebound showing against eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin.
“The physical style of the Big Ten really played to into my game,” Jenkins, who also set a personal-best with 17 rebounds at Penn State, said. “Those first four Big Ten games were a great way to start for me, especially coming off injury. The Indiana game really helped raise my confidence level.”
Unfortunately Smith, who was able to make the trip to Columbus for one game last season, missed her Brother’s four-game tear to open conference play. However, she was able to see Shun play in person at the Michigan State game in the regular season finale March 8.
Although she witnessed a 72-58 loss, Smith was all smiles while talking to her brother after the game, but she did not forget to incorporate a little constructive criticism into the postgame conversation.
“After the Michigan State game I told him he needed to be more physical. Now, I know he is a physical player, but not as physical as I want him to be. I also told him to look to score more. I think it just comes down to consistency and that should come now that he is totally healthy and has a full-year of experience.”
Consistency was an aspect former Buckeye forward George Reese, the first junior college transfer in Ohio State head coach Jim O’Brien’s era, struggled with during his first season in Division I. Reese, who transferred to Ohio State prior to the 1998-99 season from John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., helped the Buckeyes to two of the most successful seasons in recent history as the Buckeyes earned their first Final Four appearance in nearly four decades in 1998-99 and claimed a share of the Big Ten championship his senior season in 1999-00.
Reese was a key reserve on the 1998-99 squad as he averaged approximately 19 minutes a game. For the season, Reese contributed 5.5 points per game and averaged a shade more than four rebounds per contest. On occasion, Reese would breakout offensively scoring in double figures, but was never able to string along a steady stretch as a major contributor on the offensive end. Much like Jenkins against Indiana last season, Reese tended to step up in the big games as a junior, scoring 14 points and snatching seven rebounds against Michigan State and another 10 points and seven caroms at Indiana five games later.
Reese had a major impact in those games in 1998-99, but did not attain a true consistent level of play until his senior campaign, when he was the third-leading scorer with 13.2 points per contest, while adding 5.7 rebounds an outing in a season where the Columbus native tallied double figures in points in each of his last 12 games, including five 20-plus point eruptions.
The experience Reese gained in his first season was evident in his improved performance as a senior.
“George was able to come to a successful program where he was allowed time to find his niche as a player,” Rick Boyages, the associate head coach for Ohio State from 1998-2000, who has returned to the Buckeye bench this season in the same capacity, said. “George was a key reserve for us that Final Four season. Over that time his confidence grew and he became an offensive weapon and in some cases our go-to man his senior year.”
That consistency is something Jenkins will look to capture in this his senior season as he uses Reese’s career as a possible measuring stick.
“I really did not know much about him when I first got here,” Jenkins, whose build is nearly identical to that of Reese who measured 6-feet-7-inches and 240 pounds his final season, said. “But as I have spent time here, I have become familiar with his success and have used that as something to strive for.”
Boyages envisions the same potential improvement in Jenkins’ future as he did when coaching Reese in his senior year.
“Shun absolutely has the chance to succeed as George did his last year,” Boyages said. “Shun is a different type of player than George. Shun is more physical and is a relentless rebounder. Junior college guys are unique in that they only have the two seasons at a program. The more comfortable and quicker they fit in the better asset they are to the team. Shun now has a year under his belt and I look for him to improve much like George his senior year.”
