Taylor Jenkins has a story and it’s not one you hear every day in professional sports. The new head coach of the Austin Toros got a foot into the Spurs organization not because of a glittering resume or because of glowing recommendations. A door opened for Jenkins because a relative knew the chairman of the board.
“Connections,” Jenkins says, “are a big thing in this business.”
It happened at the University of Pennsylvania. As Jenkins pursued a degree in business management, he contemplated life after graduation. A career in basketball, he thought, would be cool. But he hadn’t played the game since high school and didn’t know how to break into the business. “I know Peter ****,” his grandmother said.
An introduction was made. **** asked Jenkins what he’d like to do. Jenkins expressed a desire to learn the business operations of basketball. **** phoned Spurs general manager RC Buford. Jenkins landed an internship.
In the summer of 2006, right before his senior year, Jenkins stepped into a whirlwind. The Spurs were making final preparations for the NBA Draft. Coach Gregg Popovich and his assistants needed last minute video edits of prospects. Jenkins went to work. “It was an amazing feeling,” Jenkins says. “For RC to welcome me and throw me in and give me access to everything they were doing. … To be in the same room as Pop as a young guy. I was in awe.”
After the draft, Jenkins sat in on free agent deliberations with Buford and a staff of assistants who became general managers: Sam Presti (Oklahoma City), Dell Demps (New Orleans) and Rob Hennigan (Orlando).
