Daniss Jenkins followed Rick Pitino to St. John’s for one reason: To win

Daniss Jenkins won MAAC championship at Iona last year, and follows Rick Pitino to St. John’s with goal of reestablishing similar winning culture in Queens. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — One of the first matters Rick Pitino addressed after accepting the head coaching vacancy at St. John’s was the status of the roster he inherited from his predecessor, Mike Anderson.

In his introductory press conference, Pitino pulled no punches and minced no words, intimating flat-out that some of the incumbent talent in the Red Storm program would ultimately not be retained because they did not fit with the Hall of Fame mentor, his style of play, or his expectations on and off the floor. Only two players, senior center Joel Soriano and redshirt forward Drissa Traore, remained when the Johnnies held their first official practice in September.

As Pitino worked diligently and carefully to reconstruct the roster, he knew exactly what he wanted from the point guard spot. To no surprise, after three weeks of assessing the program’s status and the consternation that followed among the St. John’s fan base, his first addition was a familiar face in Daniss Jenkins, who spent last season with Pitino at Iona.

For Jenkins, a senior with one year of eligibility remaining after earning second team all-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference honors and being named the most valuable player of the MAAC tournament, the choice to follow Pitino across the East River was a no-brainer. In fact, there was no real recruiting pitch needed to lure the Dallas native to Queens, even after his Iona teammate Walter Clayton, Jr. decided to take his talents closer to home and attend the University of Florida.

“Honestly, he didn’t have to do much,” Jenkins said of the offseason conversations between he and Pitino. “I knew I was his guy. I came here, I put in the work every single day at Iona, I tried to do everything he wanted me to do as a point guard and he helped me become a better person and a basketball player. And we won.”

“So for me, it wasn’t much he had to do. All he had to do was tell me he wanted me to be his point guard at St. John’s, and I was on board. Coach P is a great coach. He takes care of his guys. Once you become a part of him, you’re a part of his family.”

Jenkins became the first of three Gaels to join Pitino as members of the Red Storm, with Cruz Davis and Sadiku Ibine Ayo also following suit on the heels of their freshman seasons. A fourth, Quinn Slazinski, initially committed to St. John’s early in the offseason, but after Pitino landed a commitment from highly touted freshman Simeon Wilcher, Slazinski re-entered the portal and transferred to West Virginia. As a result, Jenkins has immersed himself in the task of being a more vocal leader on the floor, something he admits was not as necessary last season with veterans such as Berrick JeanLouis and Nelly Junior Joseph in front of him to pave the way.

“For me, I didn’t have to become more of a leader,” Jenkins said of his progression this offseason. “But in a way, I did. We have to build the culture back up here. At Iona, it was there for three years before I got there, so returning players that already played for (Pitino) knew the expectations and the culture. There wasn’t much I had to do there except go in and be a good point guard, versus here, where I’ve got to get them on board with what he wants, what he looks for, how we have to handle ourselves on and off the court, going to class, how we should act, just different things like that. But that’s who I am, so it’s not like I have to act a certain way or do some things different. I’ve been a leader my whole life. My first sport was football and I was a quarterback, so I’m not shy of taking command or being in charge.”

With Jenkins’ new role has come more of a teaching and advisory capacity while still being a student himself. The majority of the St. John’s roster has used him as a conduit between itself and Pitino, and Jenkins has not hesitated to impart his knowledge and wisdom whenever it is requested. 

“They really ask me all the questions in the locker room or off the court,” he said. “They’ll just ask me things like, ‘did Coach do this last year?’ But here, we have more leeway. They’re more talented, so Coach will just figure it out through playing and live action. Sometimes I’ll tell them I honestly don’t know, but for the most part, anything I know, I do tell them. They’re still trying to learn right now and figure it out on their own.”

“Our guards are very talented, but they're struggling with that area, except DJ,” Pitino said with regard to the inconsistency in practice from a unit still getting up to speed with his system and terminologies. “DJ obviously knows the plays because he ran them all last year, so he’s much more comfortable. Once the other guys catch up to learning the plays, they won’t turn it over as much.”

Jenkins’ maturity and composure under pressure makes him a perfect Pitino point guard, and his coach frequently stated last year that Jenkins could have played for him at Louisville. Still, there is an unresolved issue of returning St. John’s to its former perch among the nation’s elite, something Pitino vowed to do under his aegis and something his floor general wants to expedite for everyone’s benefit.

“I’m up for the challenge,” Jenkins boldly stated. “The challenge is bringing the culture here. We have to build the culture. When you lose, obviously you didn’t do something right, so you have to get rid of that way. Now we have to bring the culture back, show the culture that Rick Pitino wants, the winning culture. We won at Iona and went to the (NCAA) tournament, now I want go back and actually win in the tournament. That was an unbelievable experience, but I want to go back and win.”