True freshman Amir Jenkins should be in high school playing in his final high school season right now; instead, he reclassified to join WVU basketball a season early. Now, just four games into his first season, he is drawing a lot of positive attention.
Announcing his commitment on July 1, Jenkins finished his prep-career as a four-star recruit who decided to reclassify to join WVU and first-year head coach Ross Hodge a season early. From Worcester, Massachusetts, Jenkins was a four-star recruit in the class of 2025 according to 247Sports. Ranked as the 85th recruit in the class and the 12th point guard in the class, Jenkins is the 10th-ranked recruit in WVU’s history, according to 247Sports.
As he plays more minutes for Hodge, Jenkins showcases more of his abilities – so far, he's been particularly fierce and hard-nosed (or dare we say hard edge) on the defensive side of the ball. This has led many people to notice his talent, including former Mountaineers. In fact, one former WVU forward, Emmitt Matthews Jr., had high praise for Jenkins in the WVU win against Pitt – and compared the young hooper to a WVU program legend.
“Reminds me of an old teammate of mine, same guy that was in the Eastern Conference finals not too long ago,” Matthews Jr. posted on X.
reminds me of an old teammate of mine, same guy that was in the Eastern Conference finals not too long ago https://t.co/nJsyBUemcl
— Emmitt Matthews Jr. (@THEDOOSKIE) November 14, 2025
The former teammate that Matthews Jr. is referring to, of course, is WVU basketball legend Miles McBride. Earning All-Big 12 honors for his 2020-2021 season, McBride averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. Through 60 (two seasons) games wearing a WVU uniform, McBride averaged 12.6 points, 3.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per contest. Selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. McBride is now a crucial member of the Knicks' rotation and helped lead the team to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals last season.
As for the freshman, Jenkins is averaging 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.8 steals per contest in his four games as a collegiate player. Jenkins’ role is mainly coming off the bench, but he is still averaging 11.5 minutes off the bench as a freshman.
Matthews Jr. is aware that Jenkins has a LONG way to go before he compares to the likes of McBride, but the former WVU forward overlapped with McBride for the 19’-20’ and 20’-21’ seasons. And he seems to think Jenkins embodies the same relentless energy on the defensive side of the ball that McBride has long demonstrated.
Who knows what might happen with Jenkins in Hodge’s program for a few more seasons? Maybe he does turn into a McBride-esque type of player and future NBA star. Either way, drawing that kind of comparison this early in his WVU career is a marvelous compliment for the freshman.