Newly named Radford men’s basketball head coach Zach Chu has made the first addition to his coaching staff official as Marcus Jenkins was named the associate head coach of the Highlander program on Friday.
“We are extremely fortunate to have such a highly respected and proven veteran of college basketball in Marcus Jenkins joining us at Radford as our associate head coach,” Chu said. “Over his career spanning 19 years, Marcus has distinguished himself as a gifted communicator, tireless worker and exceptional leader. Most importantly, Marcus aligns with our vision for Radford basketball with his impeccable ability to connect with student-athletes and fully engage in their total growth and development. I am excited for our student-athletes to be the beneficiaries of his remarkable influence.”
Jenkins brings over 19 years of championship experience to the New River City and most recently worked as an assistant coach with Minnesota out of the Big Ten for the past four seasons.
Before he joined the Gophers, Jenkins served as the associate head coach at Richmond for three years after he was promoted from assistant coach after three seasons in the role. A proven recruiter, he helped the Spiders to a 14-9 record during the 2020-21 campaign and a spot in the NIT Quarterfinals. He also oversaw scouting operations for Richmond’s biggest victory of the season; an upset at No. 10 Kentucky in legendary Rupp Arena. The win was the first road victory over an AP top 10 opponent in school history and propelled Richmond to 19th in the AP Top 25 poll, the highest ranking for the Spiders in 63 years.
Jenkins helped engineer Richmond’s turnaround in 2019-20 where the Spiders went 24-7 to tie the school record for most regular season wins. It was a 11-win improvement from the previous year and the third-largest increase in all of NCAA Division I basketball. Following the stellar season, he was selected to participate in the prestigious 2020 TopConnect seminar which provides leadership training and networking opportunities for the nation’s top assistant coaches. In July 2020, Jenkins was also named one of the top five assistants in the Atlantic 10 as a result of a survey of A-10 staffs by Stadium.
Prior to his second stint with Richmond, Jenkins served as assistant coach at Princeton where he helped lead the team to two postseason appearances over his three seasons on staff. The Tigers played in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in 2014-15 after the squad averaged 70.2 points per game, the highest for a Princeton team since the 1971-72 campaign. That group also set the school record with 278 made three-pointers on the year.
Princeton got off to an 11-2 start in 2013-14, which included its second straight win at Rutgers and an overtime victory at Penn State, the program’s first win over a Big Ten school since 1985. The prior season (2012-13), the Tiger won 14 of their last 19 games behind the standout play of Ivy League Player of the Year Ian Hummer. After his second year at Princeton, Jenkins was selected as one of 14 college coaches to take part in the NCAA Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) Achieving Coach Excellence (ACE) program.
In Jenkins’ first year on the Princeton sidelines, the Tigers won 19 of their final 26 games and once again earned a berth in the CBI. During the special campaign, Princeton picked up its first win over an ACC school in 13 years with a triple-overtime thriller at Florida State.
Before his time with the Tigers, Jenkins was the Director of Basketball Operations at Richmond, where the squad made the post season all four years he was on staff. The Spiders were CBI participants in 2008 and 2009 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years in 2010 and 2011.
In 2010, Richmond made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004 and finished the year in the AP Top 25. The group followed it up in 2010-11 with the Spiders only Atlantic 10 Championship in program history before the squad advanced all the way to the Sweet 16. Richmond ended the historic campaign with a top 25 ranking for the second straight season.
A 2004 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Jenkins was a four-year member of the men’s basketball program. He helped lead the Falcons to the 2004 NCAA Tournament, the school’s first national tournament appearance since 1962. He also earned the team’s Falcon Award his senior year, given to the individual who sacrifices the most for the betterment of the team.
Following graduation, Jenkins assisted at Fairfield High School as he completed his three-year Air Force commitment. During his three years of service, he was stationed at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, Montana as a Logistics Officer. Jenkins was honorable discharged from the U.S. Air Force as a first lieutenant in 2007.
He and his wife, Melissa, have two daughters, Malia and Madelyn, and a son, Myles.
