Leonard "Buck" Jenkins (born February 15, 1971) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the boys varsity team at the

Riverwood International Charter School Riverwood International Charter School is a charter school located in Sandy Springs, Georgia, Sandy Springs, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is one of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County's four magnet school, magnet sites, off ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Columbia Lions The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling. History Intercollegia ...

and is the program's all-time leading scorer.

Playing career

Jenkins was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He attended Woodbridge High School in

Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in northern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a regional hub of transportation and commerce for central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City, within the New ...

, where he is the school's all-time leading scorer. Jenkins played for the Columbia Lions from 1989 to 1993. He was the Lions' leading scorer in his three final seasons and was named to the first-team All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

each time. Jenkins was selected as the Ivy League Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Year in 1993 alongside Jerome Allen of the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. Sponsored teams Men's varsit ...

. He set a Lions record when he scored 47 points during a game against the

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

on February 15, 1991. Jenkins' 1,767 career points are the most by a male Lions player. He was inducted into the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. Jenkins played professionally in Europe for two seasons.

Coaching career

On December 14, 1994, Jenkins returned to the Columbia Lions as an assistant coach. He spent two years in the position. Jenkins worked for the youth development program Inner Strength, Inc. in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Jenkins served as the head coach of the boys junior varsity basketball team at

from 2008 to 2010. He was promoted to the position of boys varsity basketball head coach in 2010. Coach Jenkins was named Region Coach of the year for the 2023-24 basketball season. He was previously named Region Coach of the Year in 2016. On Friday, March 8, 2024, Jenkins led the RICS Raiders to their first state championship over the defending 2023 state champions, Alexander High School (Douglasville, GA), by a score of 67-63 in overtime at the Macon (GA) Coliseum.

Personal life

Jenkins' stepfather, Ron Cargill, played basketball at Southampton College (now

Stony Brook Southampton Stony Brook Southampton is a campus location of Stony Brook University, located in Southampton, New York, between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the eastern end of Long Island. History Southampton Colleg ...

). His cousin,

Johnny Newman John Sylvester Newman Jr. (born November 28, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6' 7" and shooting guard/small forward, Newman starred at the University of Richmond, before going on to play in the National Basketball ...

, played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). Jenkins' son, Elijah, played college basketball for the

Embry–Riddle Eagles The Embry–Riddle Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, located in Daytona Beach, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Sunshine State Conf ...

, and has played professionally in Germany. His daughter, Nailah, played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

for the

Northeastern Huskies The Northeastern Huskies are the athletic teams representing Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. They compete in thirteen varsity team sports: men's and women's hockey (in Hockey East); men's baseball, men's and women's basketball ...

, and played a fifth year as a graduate student for the

Fordham Rams The Fordham Rams are the varsity sports teams for Fordham University. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. In football, the Rams play in t ...

.https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2023/09/14/nailah-jenkins-finds-fresh-inspiration-at-fordham/

Notes

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Buck 1971 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Columbia Lions men's basketball players Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Georgia (U.S. state) Woodbridge High School (New Jersey) alumni 20th-century American sportsmen