Carolyn Davis (now Carolyn Jenkins) had several college options when she graduated from George Bush High School in Houston.
A standout basketball player, she garnered considerable attention from numerous institutions wanting her to showcase her skills for them at the next level.
Jenkins settled on the University of Kansas, coached by Bonnie Hendrickson. There were a variety of reasons she chose the Jayhawks – horses, perhaps, the important.
"I really was into horses, I loved horses and being in Texas I saw a lot of them," said Jenkins, an assistant women's basketball coach at Kansas Wesleyan since 2014. "On my visit (assistant coach Katie O'Connor) took me out and I actually saw some horses in Lawrence, Kansas.
"Never saw one again during my four years, but on my visit I got to see those horses. It showed me she took note of the things we talked about and wanted to show me that she cared about those interests. We just got to pet them, they didn't want that liability (of riding one)."
Jenkins made the most of her four years at KU, scoring more than 1,700 points, grabbing 700 rebounds and helping the Jayhawks advance to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2013.
Her efforts landed her a spot on the KU Women's Basketball All-Decade Team that was chosen by kusports.com, an online product of the Lawrence Journal-World.
Jenkins, a 6-foot-3 post player, was No. 3 on the 10-player list behind Danielle McCray and Angel Goodrich.
"It's a great accomplishment," Jenkins said. "It's an honor to have my name put in that list of great, great players I played with. I know how great they are, so to be mentioned in the group is really awesome."
Jenkins missed the 2012 Tournament after suffering a knee injury late in the regular season, but it served as motivation to come back stronger the following season. Fully healthy, she was an integral part of the Jayhawks' drive to the 2013 Sweet 16.
She was joined by two other members of the All-Decade Team – No. 2 Angel Goodrich and No. 7 Monica Engelman.
"It was a great motivation," Jenkins said of the injury. "We had the pieces that were required for that run, so we knew we could do it again. To be able to be a part of that, but not actually play … it just was awesome to be there.
"Once I got healthy, to be able to play on that stage was what I thought about every day in rehab and treatment. Once I started practice it was a motivating factor. My best friends were playing and wanted me to be out there and they pushed me and were there for me every day. That helped, too."
Jenkins has relied on her KU experiences – good and bad – in her coaching endeavors at Wesleyan.
"In the last six years I've definitely looked back on some things as a player," she said. "As a player I wish I would have done things differently, I think a lot of people do that. When you're in that moment you're 21 and think you can do it all.
"You get to my age now and you're like 'I didn't know it all.' Being able to teach the girls now what I did wrong and try to get them to go a different path. Really just learn from the mistakes I made and experienced and try to do it a different way."
After graduating from KU, Jenkins played one year in France and Bulgaria. But injuries forced her to shift her focus to life after playing and ultimately led her to KWU.
"I thought I'd play till the wheels fell off, but they fell off a little earlier than I thought they would," she said. "Once I realized my playing days were over I thought the next best thing would be to teach others to do what I did."
Jenkins says there are parallels between her career at Division I KU and athletes who compete at Kansas Wesleyan or any collegiate team.
"I know this is a different level, but being great at this level still takes a tremendous amount of sacrifice and dedication," she said. "A lot of people think it's easy and it's not. Not a lot of people can do it.
"Having the success I've had gives me that respect. They know when I'm telling them certain things to be great that I'm saying it out of experience."
Jenkins remains close with many of her former Jayhawk teammates – Engelman, Bunny Williams, Asia Boyd and Natalie Knight (No. 6 on the list) in particular.
"Monica and I will be best friends forever," she said. "She's still playing (in Bulgaria), she'll play forever. We texted the other day after the list came out and she told me she's on the way there.
"Sweet 16 back to back, no one's ever done it and we still to this day talk about it. All the girls I played with, we'll always be in touch just because you can't forget a memory like that."
