When Rick Pitino decided to bring Iona guard Daniss Jenkins along with him to St. John’s after taking the head coaching job more than two years ago, he wanted a composed, win-at-all-cost point guard who
could make a big play when the time called for it.
Jenkins did exactly that in his only season at St. John’s, nearly willing the team to an NCAA Tournament berth with his play in February and March. His senior year performance helped him sign his first professional contract — a two-way deal — with the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2024. After one-and-a-half years of cutting his teeth on their G-League team and working his way into the team’s rotation, it was only a matter of time for Jenkins to have his breakout moment in the NBA. That came on Monday night.
With the Pistons missing six players due to injury, Jenkins was inserted into the rotation and made the most of his bump in playing time versus the Washington Wizards. The Dallas native notched a career-high 24 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and swiped four steals in 34 minutes off the bench.
Detroit rallied after trailing by eight points late in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to three in the waning seconds of regulation. Inbounding the ball past mid-court with only 1.9 seconds remaining, disaster nearly struck for the Pistons as Jalen Duren and Chaz Lanier crashed to the floor as they tried to get open. With no other option, Cade Cunningham dished it off to Daniss Jenkins in the corner, who likely wasn’t expecting to take the final shot mere moments ago, but rose and fired a triple over Bub Carrington to tie the game and send it to overtime.
The Pistons pulled ahead in overtime and held on to win, 137-135, building on their first-place lead in the Eastern Conference standings and improving their record to 9-2.
“I’m really just getting started,” Jenkins told Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa after the game, “Like I said plenty of times, this is not easy coming in and you’re not touching the court and you want to be a part of winning… It definitely feels great when you go out there with your brothers and help win a game.”
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said in the postgame press conference that the final shot wasn’t for Jenkins, but he believed in him to put him on the court for the final possession of regulation.
“We wanted Daniss [Jenkins] on the floor because we know the work that he puts in,” Bickerstaff told the media after the game, “He’s earned the respect of his teammates and the trust of his teammates and all of his coaches as well.”
While star Cade Cunningham justifiably received plenty of credit for scoring 46 points on a hefty 45 attempts and recording his first triple-double of the season, Jenkins’ locked-in mentality in the clutch wasn’t a shock for one of his teammates.
“It’s what he does,” Pistons center Jalen Duren said after the game on the Peacock broadcast, “Ever since I met him, he’s been a dog. He’s been a guy who has never been shy, never shied away from any moment. The world is going to get to know him more and more as his career goes on.”
Jenkins is one of three St. John’s men’s basketball alumni currently on an NBA roster. The two other former Johnnies in the Association play together on the burgeoning San Antonio Spurs. Julian Champagnie is playing in his fourth season in the league and has become a key contributor for the Silver and Black. David Jones-Garcia earned a spot on the active roster after an impressive Summer League performance and has played in three games so far in his rookie season.
