| Buck Jenkins | |
| Team: | Riverwood International Charter School |
| Position: | Head coach |
| Birth Date: | 15 February 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 6 |
| High School: | Woodbridge (Woodbridge Township, New Jersey) |
| College: | Columbia (1989–1993) |
| Draft Year: | 1993 |
| Career Position: | Guard |
| Cyears1: | 2010–present |
| Cteam1: | Riverwood International Charter School |
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Leonard "Buck" Jenkins (born February 15, 1971)[1] is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the boys varsity team at the Riverwood International Charter School. He played college basketball for the Columbia Lions and is the program's all-time leading scorer.[2]
Jenkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey,[3] where he is the school's all-time leading scorer.[4]
Jenkins played for the Columbia Lions from 1989 to 1993. He was the Lions' leading scorer in his three final seasons and was named to the first-team All-Ivy League each time. Jenkins was selected as the Ivy League Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Year in 1993 alongside Jerome Allen of the Penn Quakers. He set a Lions record when he scored 47 points during a game against the Harvard Crimson on February 15, 1991. Jenkins' 1,767 career points are the most by a male Lions player. He was inducted into the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
Jenkins played professionally in Europe for two seasons.
Jenkins worked as an assistant coach for the Columbia Lions after his playing career. He worked for the youth development program Inner Strength, Inc. in Georgia.
Jenkins served as the head coach of the boys junior varsity basketball team at Riverwood International Charter School from 2008 to 2010. He was promoted to the position of boys varsity basketball head coach in 2010.[5]
Coach Jenkins was named Region Coach of the year for the 2023-24 basketball season. He was previously named Region Coach of the Year in 2016.
On Friday, March 8, 2024, Jenkins led the RICS Raiders to their first state championship over the defending 2023 state champions, Alexander High School (Douglasville, GA), by a score of 67-63 in overtime at the Macon (GA) Coliseum.
Jenkins is married (1998) to Lydia (Francis) who is also a graduate of Columbia University. They have two children. Son, Elijah, played college basketball for the Embry–Riddle Eagles.[6] Elijah currently plays for the German Club ~ Deutzer TV in Cologne. https://erauathletics.com/news/2022/9/19/mens-basketball-jenkins-inks-contract-with-german-club-deutzer-tv.aspx Their daughter, Nailah, played volleyball for the Northeastern Huskies[7] and played a fifth year as a graduate student at Fordham University. https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2023/09/14/nailah-jenkins-finds-fresh-inspiration-at-fordham/Both children graduated from their respective undergraduate universities and are currently working on graduate degrees.