28 Reasons UNLV Fans Will Love David Jenkins Jr.

UNLV Basketball - David Jenkins Jr — *Photo Credit: Twitter*

28 Reasons UNLV Fans Will Love David Jenkins Jr.

Usually, when someone says that a team has the best backcourt in the country, it’s a statement that is teeming with exaggeration. In UNLV’s case, it’s not remotely hyperbolic to suggest that’s the case.

When you return All-Mountain West performer Bryce Hamilton and (arguably) the best shooter in the country, David Jenkins Jr becomes eligible; you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a better tandem anywhere in the nation.

Hamilton emerged last season as one of the premier scoring guards out west when he averaged just shy of 21 points per game in MWC play. Hamilton shot a blistering 64% from midrange, and also made a respectable 35% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

UNLV Basketball — *Photo Credit: Argus Leader*

More than that, he made it blatantly clear night in and night out that there wasn’t a team in the league that could guard him.

While at South Dakota State under head coach TJ Otzelberger, Jenkins had some monstrous performances. Just to put it in perspective, he scored 20 or more points on 28 occasions during his time with the Jackrabbits. If that wasn’t enough, Jenkins scored 30 or more points 6 different times for SDSU. That’s going to make any Rebel fan salivate at the possibilities and dream of an MWC title and a chance at an NCAA Tournament bid.

Just to give you an idea of the numbers, here’s Jenkins Jr’s stat lines and biggest performances since he’s been in college, 28 games.

2017-18 – Freshman Year: 16.1 points per game, 43% field goals, 38% from three, 80% free throws.

2018-19 – Sophomore Year: 19.7 points per game, 45% field goals, 45% from three, 80% free throws.

2017-18: Big Games

Alabama State– 20 points, 5/12 field goals, 5/9 from 3, 5/7 free throws, 25 minutes off the bench.

SDSU 94 Alabama State 63

Iowa– 23 points, 7/12 field goals, 3/7 from 3, 6/7 free throws, 28 minutes off the bench in an

SDSU 80 Iowa 72

Ole Miss– 22 points, 7/18 field goals, 2/10 from 3, 5 rebounds, three assists, 6/6 free throws, 36 minutes off the bench.

SDSU 99 Ole Miss 97

Colorado– 31 points, 10/23 field goals, 7/12 from 3, 4/ 5 free throws.

SDSU 103 Colorado 112

Omaha– 22 points, 8/12 field goals, 4/6 from 3.

SDSU 101 Omaha 88

Denver– 27 points, 8/14 field goals, 4/8 from 3, 7/7 free throws.

SDSU 94 Denver 72

At Western Illinois– 27 points, 9/13 field goals, 4/6 from 3, 5/5 free throws, six rebounds.

SDSU 98 Western Illinois 70

North Dakota State– 20 points, 6/15 field goals, 1/ 5 from 3, 7/ 8 free throws, four rebounds.

SDSU 82 North Dakota State 63

At Denver– 31 points, 9/17 field goals, 6/11 from 3, 7/10 free throws.

SDSU 81 Denver 77

Western Illinois– 20 points, 7/12 field goals, 1/ 3 from 3, 7 rebounds.

SDSU 82 Western Illinois 62

(Conference Tournament)

North Dakota State– 24 points, 10/15 field goals, 2/6 from 3, 5 rebounds.

SDSU 78 North Dakota State 57

(Conference Tournament)

South Dakota– 29 points, 10/19 field goals, 3/ 5 from 3, 6/6 free throws, six rebounds.

SDSU 97 South Dakota 87

2018-19: Big Games

Grand Canyon– 31 points, 8/16 field goals, 4/7 from 3, 11/15 free throws, five rebounds.

SDSU 79 GCU 74

Florida Gulf Coast– 29 points, 10/17 field goals, 5/ 8 from 3, 4/4 free throws.

SDSU 78 FGCU 84

Tulane– 23 points, 6/16 field goals, 3/ 6 from 3, 8/10 free throws, four assists.

SDSU 80 Tulane 84

Colorado State– 32 points, 13/23 field goals, 3/7 from 3, 3/3 free throws, seven rebounds, three assists.

SDSU 78 CSU 65

Memphis– 35 points, 11/17 field goals, 8/11 from 3, 5/ 6 free throws, 4 rebounds.

SDSU 80 Memphis 88

Southern- 22 points, 5/10 field goals, 2/ 5 from 3, 10/13 free throws.

SDSU 101 Southern 92

Savannah State– 28 points, 10/18 field goals, 8/11 from 3.

SDSU 139 SSU 72

At Western Illinois– 23 points, 8/14 field goals, 5/ 8 from 3, 5 rebounds.

SDSU 100 Western Illinois 58

Purdue Fort Wayne– 21 points, 7/16 field goals, 4/8 from 3, 4 rebounds.

SDSU 88 Purdue Fort Wayne 104

Denver– 21 points, 5/10 field goals, 5/9 from 3, 6/8 free throws.

SDSU 78 Denver 66

At North Dakota– 20 points, 7/14 field goals, 1/ 5 from 3, 5/7 free throws.

SDSU 78 North Dakota 74

North Dakota State– 25 points, 9/18 field goals, 4/10 from 3, 4 rebounds.

SDSU 87 NDSU 69

At Omaha– 34 points, 12/21 field goals, 10/15 from 3.

SDSU 84 Omaha 85

At North Dakota State– 24 points, 5/15 field goals, 5/10 from 3, 9/9 free throws, six assists.

SDSU 78 NDSU 77

Purdue Fort Wayne– 22 points, 8/20 field goals, 6/12 from 3, 4 rebounds, four assists.

SDSU 92 Purdue Fort Wayne 83

(Conference Tournament)

Western Illinois– 29 points, 11/23 field goals, 3/9 from 3, 3 rebounds.

SDSU 76 Western Illinois 79

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Joe Arrigo

Joe Arrigo is the co-founder and VP of Franchise Sports Media. Joe has been in media since 2004 when he became the morning host on KKUU and mid-days co-host on KXPS in Pam Springs. After his time in Palm Springs, Joe became the operations manager when he built, programmed, and was on-air for KQCM. He has also had stints on-air in various markets, including Fresno. Joe became the producer and co-host for The Beast 980 (KFWB), a sports talk station in Los Angeles, before moving to Vegas in 2015. In 2019 he founded Franchise Sports Media with TQ.

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