Sophomore leading Patriots basketball team

By Adam McFadden • February 5, 2009 12:40 pm
Chandler Jenkins looks for a way around Taylor Campbell of Mount Si in a Jan. 23 game. Jenkins led the Patriots with 16 points in the game
Chandler Jenkins looks for a way around Taylor Campbell of Mount Si in a Jan. 23 game. Jenkins led the Patriots with 16 points in the game

Though not everything has gone according to plan for the Liberty boys basketball team this season, there are reasons to be excited for the future. One of them is sophomore starting point guard Chandler Jenkins.

“I knew he was going to be good, But he’s been a pleasant surprise” said Liberty coach Chris Bilanko. “Certainly next year and the year after his role is going to be major for this team.”

Jenkins is leading the Patriots in scoring at 10.6 points per game on the season, and he’s been even better in the past 10 games, at 12.8.

The 5-foot-7 guard has charged head-first at the challenge of starting in a leadership position while so young.

“It’s a little tough at times as a sophomore,” Jenkins said. “But the coaches really help out.”

Bilanko said he had reservations about giving so much responsibility to a sophomore, but Jenkins has progressed greatly as the season has stretched on.

“We’re asking him to bring the ball up, we’re asking him to score and he’s usually guarding the other team’s best player,” Bilanko said of Jenkins’ role for the Patriots.

He said Jenkins has also done a great job of working through the inconsistency that usually plagues young players.

Jenkins didn’t have a strong summer workout with the team, so he began the season on the bench. But as the season wore on, he made his way into the starting lineup.

“We just kind of collectively realized as coaches that when he’s on the floor, we’re better,” Bilanko said.

Jenkins has played basketball since the age of four. He plays for the Renton Ballers AAU team outside of school.

Even though he’s just a sophomore, he already has one eye on how his athleticism might give him opportunities in college.

“It can’t ever be too soon to think about college,” Jenkins said. He expects to play football instead of basketball at the next level. “There are just so many good basketball players out there.”

Jenkins rushed 123 times for 736 yards and nine touchdowns for the Liberty football team in the fall. He also caught 23 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns.

Liberty (5-11 overall, 2-7) is tied for fifth place in the KingCo 3A/2A.