By Bill Koch
When Mick Cronin was UC’s basketball coach, he called his Bearcats a “developmental program.”
He believed the best way to win consistently at UC was to recruit talented players who would respond to coaching. He valued upperclassmen who were physically and mentally prepared to compete at a high level and understood what the program stood for.
That approach worked for Cronin, who led UC to nine straight NCAA Tournaments before he left for UCLA in 2019. His teams thrived with players who were willing to persevere through difficult times when they might not get the amount of playing time they thought they deserved, but eventually became valuable contributors on winning teams. Think Sean Kilpatrick, Justin Jackson, JaQuon Parker and Justin Jenifer.
Are those kind of players fast becoming a dying breed?
When I saw the news this week that six UC players were entering the NCAA transfer portal, I thought of Jenifer, the epitome of a player who struggled at the start of his college career, but reaped the benefits of hard work by the time he was a senior.
My first glimpse of Jenifer, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Baltimore, was in an online video shortly after he committed to UC. Back then, he loved to throw behind-the-back and no-look passes. I figured this kid was going to be a lot of fun to watch.
But when he arrived at UC, Jenifer he had difficulty earning playing time. Cronin wasn’t nearly as thrilled with those entertaining passes as I was. Plus, he demanded that his guys play defense. Jenifer was so lacking in those early days that someone connected with the UC program told me he wasn’t good enough to play on this level.
Three years later, Jenifer had proved him wrong.
When I talked to Jenifer in December 2018, early in his senior year, he admitted that he missed the accolades he used to get from fans who enjoyed his flamboyant style when he was in high school. By then he had learned the hard way that Cronin favored fundamentals over flash, results over raves from fans.
“I do miss that,” Jenifer said, “but hey, an assist is an assist and, as long as it counts, that’s all that matters.”
Jenifer had worked hard to shed some of the bad habits he showed up with as a freshman. He did such good job that he was leading the country with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 8-to-1. He had just scored 11 points against UCLA on four-of-seven shooting, recording five assists with no turnovers. It was the kind of performance many Bearcat fans never could have envisioned when Jenifer was anchored to the bench as a freshman due to his penchant for committing turnovers.
After that first season, Jennifer said, he had a talk with his dad, who told him that if he wanted to transfer he wouldn’t stand in his way. Jenifer wasn’t interested.
“Where I come from,” he told me, “we don’t quit. I wanted to stick it out. I didn’t want to go nowhere else. I was here to be a Bearcat. That’s what I signed up for and that’s what I’m going to do. I told him it would make me a better man and a better person.”
Such determination and loyalty should be celebrated, Cronin said, especially in an age when many players transfer as soon as things don’t go their way.
“Loyalty to your program, defense, assists, taking care of the ball, those are things that are reasons that programs win,” Cronin said. “They don’t get you on College Game Night, but they win your coach a lot of games and your program a lot of games. He’s been a good soldier. He could have given up after a couple years playing behind Troy Caupain and transferred.
“He could have gotten frustrated probably like 70 percent of the country, transfer, quit and go home. But Justin stayed here, was loyal to us, and we’re winning a lot of games because of him.”
After shooting 35.8 percent from 3-point range during his first three years, Jenifer had improved to 46.6 percent (14 for 39 at the time of our interview), which tied him with Jarron Cumberland for the team lead in 3-point field goal percentage. He was averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 assists, and had committed only six turnovers. He was a much different player from the one I saw in that video.
“Being a senior and the floor general of the team, I have to make sure I take care of the ball at all times,” Jenifer said. “I’m always the one who has the ball in his hands. I have to make sure I make the right decision. I had to come back and make sure I think before I do, instead of making the flashy play for the crowd or for myself. Everything is about the team.”
When times were tough, Jenifer said, he relied on support from his family, his teammates. and the UC coaching staff. Mostly though, he leaned on his own steely resolve.
“I’m very glad that I stayed,” he said.
When Mick Cronin was UC’s basketball coach, he called his Bearcats a “developmental program.”
He believed the best way to win consistently at UC was to recruit talented players who would respond to coaching. He valued upperclassmen who were physically and mentally prepared to compete at a high level and understood what the program stood for.
That approach worked for Cronin, who led UC to nine straight NCAA Tournaments before he left for UCLA in 2019. His teams thrived with players who were willing to persevere through difficult times when they might not get the amount of playing time they thought they deserved, but eventually became valuable contributors on winning teams. Think Sean Kilpatrick, Justin Jackson, JaQuon Parker and Justin Jenifer.
Are those kind of players fast becoming a dying breed?
When I saw the news this week that six UC players were entering the NCAA transfer portal, I thought of Jenifer, the epitome of a player who struggled at the start of his college career, but reaped the benefits of hard work by the time he was a senior.
My first glimpse of Jenifer, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Baltimore, was in an online video shortly after he committed to UC. Back then, he loved to throw behind-the-back and no-look passes. I figured this kid was going to be a lot of fun to watch.
But when he arrived at UC, Jenifer he had difficulty earning playing time. Cronin wasn’t nearly as thrilled with those entertaining passes as I was. Plus, he demanded that his guys play defense. Jenifer was so lacking in those early days that someone connected with the UC program told me he wasn’t good enough to play on this level.
Three years later, Jenifer had proved him wrong.
When I talked to Jenifer in December 2018, early in his senior year, he admitted that he missed the accolades he used to get from fans who enjoyed his flamboyant style when he was in high school. By then he had learned the hard way that Cronin favored fundamentals over flash, results over raves from fans.
“I do miss that,” Jenifer said, “but hey, an assist is an assist and, as long as it counts, that’s all that matters.”
Jenifer had worked hard to shed some of the bad habits he showed up with as a freshman. He did such good job that he was leading the country with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 8-to-1. He had just scored 11 points against UCLA on four-of-seven shooting, recording five assists with no turnovers. It was the kind of performance many Bearcat fans never could have envisioned when Jenifer was anchored to the bench as a freshman due to his penchant for committing turnovers.
After that first season, Jennifer said, he had a talk with his dad, who told him that if he wanted to transfer he wouldn’t stand in his way. Jenifer wasn’t interested.
“Where I come from,” he told me, “we don’t quit. I wanted to stick it out. I didn’t want to go nowhere else. I was here to be a Bearcat. That’s what I signed up for and that’s what I’m going to do. I told him it would make me a better man and a better person.”
Such determination and loyalty should be celebrated, Cronin said, especially in an age when many players transfer as soon as things don’t go their way.
“Loyalty to your program, defense, assists, taking care of the ball, those are things that are reasons that programs win,” Cronin said. “They don’t get you on College Game Night, but they win your coach a lot of games and your program a lot of games. He’s been a good soldier. He could have given up after a couple years playing behind Troy Caupain and transferred.
“He could have gotten frustrated probably like 70 percent of the country, transfer, quit and go home. But Justin stayed here, was loyal to us, and we’re winning a lot of games because of him.”
After shooting 35.8 percent from 3-point range during his first three years, Jenifer had improved to 46.6 percent (14 for 39 at the time of our interview), which tied him with Jarron Cumberland for the team lead in 3-point field goal percentage. He was averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 assists, and had committed only six turnovers. He was a much different player from the one I saw in that video.
“Being a senior and the floor general of the team, I have to make sure I take care of the ball at all times,” Jenifer said. “I’m always the one who has the ball in his hands. I have to make sure I make the right decision. I had to come back and make sure I think before I do, instead of making the flashy play for the crowd or for myself. Everything is about the team.”
When times were tough, Jenifer said, he relied on support from his family, his teammates. and the UC coaching staff. Mostly though, he leaned on his own steely resolve.
“I’m very glad that I stayed,” he said.
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