Photo by Jacqui South. Gonzaga junior forward Kris Jenkins, of Upper Marlboro, has become a leader of the Washington, D.C., powerhouse.

Published on: Thursday, February 02, 2012

By Brandy L. Simms

The nationally-ranked Gonzaga College High School basketball team in Washington, D.C., is one of the favorites to unseat three-time defending conference champion DeMatha this season.

The Purple Eagles boast one of the area’s top point guards in North Carolina recruit and Upper Marlboro native Nate Britt who has been sidelined with a bruised calf he suffered on Jan. 14.

However, junior forward Kris Jenkins, also of Upper Marlboro, has played well in Britt’s absence and is among the leading candidates to capture the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Player of the Year honor at season’s end.

Although Britt has been unable to play, he can be found courtside each game cheering on his teammates and providing counsel.

“Nate’s presence is always needed whether he’s on the floor or on the bench,” said Jenkins, who resides with the Britt family, “so whenever he’s talking to us, whenever he’s coaching us, we listen because he’s a great player.”

Jenkins has played well in recent Gonzaga wins over Whitney Young (Illinois) and Baltimore’s Patterson, a game where he nailed a 3-pointer as time expired to secure the victory.

Jenkins’ talents were on display Jan. 21 at Bender Arena on the American University campus. The 6-foot-6, 249-pound dynamo scored a game-high 27 points to lead Gonzaga past DeMatha, 76-74, in a battle of league powers.

Jenkins, considered a high major Division I prospect, converted all six of his 3-pointers and registered five dunks in the victory.

“I’m glad he’s on my team,” Gonzaga head coach Steve Turner said with a laugh. “He’s a leader, he’s one of our captains. Even when he had to be in foul trouble in the second quarter he did a great job of being a guy that was vocal and leading on the bench. He was chomping at the bit to get back on the floor.”

Jenkins scored 21 points in the second half including five 3-pointers to help the Purple Eagles build a double-digit lead. The talented junior nailed back-to-back treys to give Gonzaga a 59-44 advantage with 6:50 remaining in the game before the Purple Eagles stretched the lead to as many as 17 points and DeMatha staged a furious comeback.

A pair of free throws from DeMatha guard and Mitchellville resident James Robinson tied the game at 74 apiece with 9.1 seconds remaining before Gonzaga sealed the win on a pair of free throws from sophomore Jordan Abdur-Ra’oof with 1.2 seconds left.

“They were huge (free throws),” Jenkins said. “Very clutch free throws, we practice it all the time so we had confidence in him when he went up to the free throw line and knocked them down.”

The win over DeMatha helped put Gonzaga in the driver’s seat for the WCAC regular season crown and kept the Purple Eagles unbeaten midway through the 2011-2012 campaign.

Although Britt’s return date is not exactly known, he is expected to be back in action before the season ends.

“I’m not sure how long he’s going to be out,” said Jenkins, “but we need him to hurry up and get back so we can continue to get better as a team.”