For the second time since Craig Smith became head coach, the Utah Utes basketball program has received a commitment from a transfer guard.

On Sunday evening, UNLV’s David Jenkins Jr. announced his pledge to the program on Twitter. He joins former Cincinnati guard Gabe Madsen, who is already officially on Utah’s roster.

Before committing, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Jenkins Jr. already had at least one connection to the Utes, as assistant coach DeMarlo Slocum officially rejoined the team last week after two seasons at UNLV (Slocum was on Utah’s staff the eight seasons prior to that).

The Utes will be the third team Jenkins Jr. has played for during his collegiate career. A native of Tacoma, Washington, he played two seasons for South Dakota State from 2017-2019, where he averaged 16.1 points and 19.7 points per game.

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Jenkins Jr. then followed SDSU head coach T.J. Otzelberger to UNLV. After sitting out a year, Jenkins Jr. averaged 14.8 points per game in the 2020-21 season, second on the team (Otzelberger was recently hired as the head coach at Iowa State).

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The additions of Madsen and Jenkins Jr. will help solidify a Utah backcourt that has seen key players Ian Martinez and Alfonso Plummer enter the transfer portal, as well as seldom-used Jordan Kellier. Pelle Larsson, Rylan Jones and Jaxon Brenchley remain.

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