Through the spring and summer, Daniss Jenkins was an afterthought for St. John’s.
The first player to commit to new Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino back in mid-April, Jenkins was overshadowed by flashier newcomers.
Once workouts began, he wasn’t able to take part because he was working to earn his undergraduate degree so he could qualify as a graduate transfer.
Now, a few weeks into fall workouts, Jenkins’ name comes up in any talk about St. John’s basketball. Everyone raves about him, from coaches to teammates.
“He’s been the best of the lot, the most consistent on the team,” Pitino told The Post. “He hasn’t been with us long, but so far, almost every practice he’s been at, he has shined. He makes everybody better. He knows how to direct everybody.”
Despite posting big numbers last season for Iona, Jenkins was somewhat overlooked.
His backcourt-mate Walter Clayton Jr., who wound up choosing Florida over St. John’s, was considered the big prize among Gaels players in the transfer portal.
Clayton was the MAAC Player of the Year and Jenkins was an All-MAAC second team selection.
But there was a reason for that.
“Daniss set Walter up quite a bit, and he found Walter,” said Pitino, who coached both at Iona.
The 6-foot-3 Jenkins had a very strong season.
He averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds, and shot 36.1 percent from 3-point range.
He had 27 points in the MAAC Tournament title game, and 14 points, five assists and four steals in an NCAA Tournament loss to eventual national champion Connecticut.
During Jenkins’ visit to St. John’s, Pitino told him he would be his point guard.
Jenkins jumped at the opportunity to play in one of the top leagues in the country.
“I want to go out there and show why I’m here,” Jenkins said. “I definitely have to bring my game every single night in the Big East. … It’s no pressure. We all want to win. All we talk about is getting St. John’s back to where it’s supposed to be, where it should be, and that’s winning.”
Joel Soriano, the lone returning contributor for St. John’s, said he could see how much value Jenkins had throughout the offseason, even if his new teammate couldn’t take part in team workouts.
They played pickup games together, and Soriano noticed how Jenkins made others around him better. He played fast, but under control, always looking to make the right play.
But Soriano grew nervous as the summer wore on. He kept waiting for Jenkins to graduate.
“Whenever I saw him, I told him, ‘Where’s your laptop. Make sure you do your work.’ I was on his ass,” the standout center joked. “We needed somebody that is a true point guard, and Daniss brings that to the team. Once he came in, you felt his presence right away.”
Jenkins began to practice with the Red Storm on Sept. 4, but even when he couldn’t be part of practices or team meetings, he took it upon himself to be around as much as possible.
He could watch workouts, and he made a point of being there for almost every one.
He offered insights to his teammates about Pitino and what the legendary coach expected of them.
He told them that nothing they could do would impress Pitino.
He has seen too much. Pitino had certain demands — playing hard, defending, communicating and making the extra pass — that had to be met.
Most of all, Jenkins just wanted to be there.
“I didn’t want to feel like an outsider,” he said. “I think that was a big key to hang out with the team. We still need to bond together. This is 14 new guys. Outside of us who played together at Iona, we haven’t played with each other. We needed to come together and bond together to be as one unit.”
That has continued into the fall. Jenkins organized a players-only bowling outing Friday. He has made a point of getting the team together off the court, as a way to speed up their familiarity and chemistry with one another.
Jenkins’ on-court ability is his most important attribute. He understands what Pitino expects, and he knows the offensive and defensive systems. So far, everything about Jenkins has stood out, from his consistency at both ends of the floor to his leadership qualities and experience.
“Now that I’ve gone through the summer without him, I would say it would’ve been very difficult for us to play without him,” Pitino said. “We really didn’t have a verbal leader. Without question, he’s the leader on the court.”
St. John’s hosted the 13th annual Dribble for Victory Over Cancer fundraiser Saturday, a joint venture between the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and the V Foundation for Cancer Research to end childhood cancer.
Proceeds from the Oct. 21 exhibition game against Rutgers will also go to the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at the V Foundation.
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