Jenkins era begins in Coal City
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
Shawn Jenkins feels rejuvenated .
Th veteran Westside coach , who took the Renegades the state tournament in 2018 , has been in the Region 3 finals the last three seasons ( although the 2020 game wasn ’ t played , called on game day by the Covid outbreak ) and has won 75 games in six years had little idea when he resigned at the end of last year it would lead to a whole new coaching career . In the same section .
Jenkins is the new coach at Independence , not necessarily a hotbed for hoops but it has had moments . Independence is more of a football , wrestling and baseball school . But to Jenkins it ’ s like he landed on the bench of a powerhouse .
“ My teaching job here is great ,” Jenkins said . “ The people I work with every day are great . It ’ s a great community that gets behind its teams . It ’ s not too many times you resign from a job , and you get another opportunity like this . “ For me that was part of what makes this job so great . You work with good people , a good administration , a good AD ( coach John H . Lilly ) man , I do feel rejuvenated . It has just been 100 percent positive from Day 1 .”
Jenkins knows that he has work to do .
His team at Westside eliminated Independence 77-44 in the first-round of the Class AAA Region 3 section tournament a year ago . Independence finished 6-15 .
On top of that it graduated
14 • WV SOUTH BASKETBALL
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Brad Davis / For The Register-Herald
Independence ’ s Jordan James shoots from three-point range as Liberty ’ s Ethan Williams defends Feb . 21 in Glen Daniel .
some talented players , one being leading scorer Michael McKinney ( 18.7 ppg ), Carter Askins ( 9.7 ), Lohan Phalin ( 8.2 ). It looks like 6-3 Cyrus Goodson ( 14.0 ppg ) might not play as well to concentrate on his football career .
So , Jenkins has work to do , but part of the fun is building .
“ I want to build the program , not for one season , not for way down the road , but a team that can be competitive in the postseason ,” Jenkins said . “ You know me . I go into every game trying to win it . We ’ ve had anywhere from 20-25 working out , and we will get a few players from football when their season ends ( the Patriots were in the postseason until mid-November . I can ’ t worry about who isn ’ t here , I can work to get the kids we have better .”
For Independence , a pair of solid performers from last season return in Corey Shumate and Jordan James . These are guys Jenkins knows well having played them up to three times the past two to three seasons .
“ Corey Shumate looks a lot better than he did a year ago , and he is really running the floor well ,” Jenkins said . “ He is a big kid , and he is going to be a key for us inside . We don ’ t have a whole lot of size . James is a kid who has impressed me . He is a kid who was just known as a shooter , but he has added elements to his game . He ’ s a more rounded player .”
Jenkins is excited about a pair of transfers from Shady Spring in junior Chris Lilly and senior Colton Hughes .
They were not varsity players at Shady Spring but went through the Tigers practices during the state championship season in 2020 and last year ’ s runner-up season .
“ I ’ ve talked to these guys , the guys who have been with us and they are excited ,” Jenkins said . “ We had a group show up that are interested in being part of the foundation we are laying here . Chris and Colten are on board , and they are going to be a big part of what we do , what we are building .”
If it is a big opportunity for those kids , it is also a big opportunity for younger players with the graduation of so many seniors .
Jenkins is high on a pair of freshmen in Silas Nelson and Ashton Arthur . Nelson is a member of the football team .
“ If you are trying to build t , you have to have some young bucks coming up and these two kids , I ’ m telling you now , are going to be good players ,” Jenkins said . “ If they go out and show they are as good as we ’ ve got than they are going to play .”
Jamarion Henderson , a first-year junior , is also another player that caught Jenkins ’ eye .
“ He hasn ’ t played but he has come in and works hard and he plays hard , a kid that ’ s going to give you everything he has ,” Jenkins said . “ He ’ s 6-3 , so he has some size , and he is a lefty .”
Two other plays Jenkins noted were Cameron Vandal and Hunter Moore .
“ This is a different challenge than I ’ ve had in the past ,” Jenkins said . “ I have been a part of situations where you did not necessarily change things because what was going on worked . This is different . We want to build something new , something that is sustainable and something that the community can be proud of . You go to football games on Friday night and the community gets behind that team . We would like to build that type of situation here in basketball .”