Alabama women’s basketball has been showing major improvement, and senior Tierney Jenkins has been a big part of it. Jenkins has been a big contributor for the Crimson Tide since she stepped on campus, including being on the All-SEC Freshmen Team and notching five double doubles in the 2007-2008 season.
She did not slow down in her sophomore year, when she led the Tide in scoring nine different times, including a 25-point, 14-rebound performance against Ole Miss. Her strong junior year was enough to get her the 2nd team All-SEC honors going into this season, an honor she has mixed feelings about.
“To be completely honest, I was a little surprised,” Jenkins said. “Second team is good, but I think I can be first team if I play well this season.”
Her junior year was also a learning experience on team leadership. Just ask head coach Wendell Hudson about last year’s leadership, or lack thereof.
“We have leadership now that we didn’t have this year or two years ago,” Hudson said. “I was asked many times last year where our leadership was coming from, and I just shook my head. I didn’t know, I just wasn’t sure.”
That had to change this season, something Hudson went straight to Jenkins for.
“Coach had to talk to me one day and tell me that I need to step up and lead this team,” Jenkins said. “That’s not my normal thing. I just go out and play, let someone else do the talking. It’s been hard, but I’ve been trying.”
Now Hudson can answer that question honestly.
“We have a group of senior leaders that are stepping up an leading this team,” he said.
One of last year’s McDonald’s All-Americans, star freshman Kaneisha Horn has felt this leadership first hand.
“She’s stepped up a lot for us,” Horn said. “She talks to us a lot, she helps us out when we need it. She leads by example, too. She’s been strong for us.”
Hudson has noticed how Jenkins has handled that new role and said he is impressed.
“Tierney Jenkins is a leader on this basketball team, plain and simple,” Hudson said. “She’s been the most consistent [player] we’ve had on this team, and we’ve completely changed our tempo this year.”
Hudson even saw something from Jenkins that he has never seen in his lifetime of basketball.
“We were working so hard, that we got done with practice a little early the other day,” Hudson said. “So I brought the team in and said we’re going to end practice a little early, and Tierney said, ‘Can we do a little more, Coach?’”
It’s a work ethic that strong that makes it no surprise Jenkins led the team in points, steals and rebounds last season. Even after that season, she did everything she could to improve, even playing other sports.
“I did any little thing I could to get better, be a more well rounded player,” Jenkins said. “I played tennis to improve my conditioning and footwork. I tried boxing. I just did every little thing I could.”
Jenkins, standing at six feet tall, is undersized for her position, and this extra off season work definitely helps her chances.
“It’s all about the mindset,” Jenkins said. “You have to think this rebound is mine and that I’m going to out hustle and just out work this person.”
