Hamilton, ON- Jordan Denkers always loved the physicality. Growing up playing basketball, she always loved playing defence, being aggressive and being competitive. 

The third-year McMaster Marauders forward took a lot of pride in that. It was about effort rather than skill. After playing that way at Hamilton Transway and Westdale Secondary School, Denkers was now doing so at the university level. 

“It’s just something that anyone’s really capable of,” Denkers said. “It’s just a mindset and it’s being committed to giving 100 per cent every time you’re on the court.” 

It was something she could control – how hard she worked and hustled. Denkers has shown that effort, physicality and defence in her third season at McMaster – a career season so far. She’s learned from her coaches, teammates and even opponents about it. 

In the Marauders’ back-to-back losses to the Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees to close out the first half of the season, Denkers found herself in the middle of it all. She found herself down in the paint, guarding the opposing teams forwards and posts and scrapping for boards. 

She played 11 minutes against an experienced and physical Ravens squad – the defending OUA and national champions. She played 19 minutes against Ottawa, notching two points, two steals and five rebounds. She’s averaging just over 12 minutes a game this season – a jump from 3.4 minutes last season. 

She scored a career-best 10 points against the TMU Bold on Nov. 22 while her five rebounds against Ottawa tied her career-best – also set earlier this season.

It’s been a journey to reach this point – from someone who saw sparse minutes off the bench to being a rotational player who’s tasked with key defensive assignments. Denkers remembers the start of her university journey.

It’s a completely different game, she realized once she arrived at McMaster in 2021. It’s almost a completely different sport.

She knows how the physicality level and pace of play is something many first-years have to adjust to. For her, it’s something she embraced. Something she tries to bring to the court – setting the tone physically and setting the pace of play. 

Going back to those summer scrimmages before her first season, Denkers could feel the speed of the university game. The Marauders like to run. Her teammates were sprinting up the court and soon, so was she. 

Being around those practices and that level of pace and physical play in her first two years, Denkers wasn’t shocked by it when she started to see more playing time in her third season. 

There are still moments of learning though. Perhaps one of those was after their 86-56 loss to Carleton. Perhaps she heard McMaster head coach Theresa Burns talk about them needing to respond physically after losing the rebounding battle 59-29. How they need to practice with that physicality – with that attention to detail – on every drill. 

She saw how together the Ravens players were when rebounding or defending. “Five-person defence,” she called it. She saw they were all bought into it. 

“We’re going to definitely take that into our practices and get up on each other and crash boards,” Denkers said. She’s excited to play them again. 

Denkers saw the energy they brought in the game against Ottawa. She heard them talk about making adjustments. She knows how important it is for them to identify them early and make those changes sooner. 

“Our team has had a lot of growth,” she said. “It’ll just come down to how quickly we’re able to adapt to the game and specific situations in the game.” 

As she tries to process those adjustments, Denkers finds herself communicating with her teammates, making sure they’re on the same page. “Constantly talking about it,” she said.

Denkers knows the pace McMaster wants to play. She knows how it starts from the defensive end – forcing those turnovers, earning those offensive opportunities. “Just relying on my teammates,” she said. “Just knowing that we’re all there for each other.”

Her teammates have been there for her since the start of her university career. When Denkers arrived in 2021, the team had lots of senior players. She got to know them and learned from them. When they supported her with their actions and words, Denkers took those to heart. “A huge part of my mindset,” she called it. 

Keep your head in it. Keep working and keep putting your all into it, they told her. One day, that will pay off. So, Denkers did so. Maybe now it’s paying off. 

She still hears from those former teammates who reach out to congratulate her. U SPORTS Player of the Year Sarah Gates was a huge mentor for her. Gates would check in with her, giving her encouragement and telling her it was all going to work out. 

In her third season, Denkers is becoming a leader as well. It’s a balance – she has more experience than the team’s first-year players but she also looks up to their fourth and fifth-year vets. 

When she thinks of herself a leader, she reflects on those who’ve helped her. If I can be that person for someone…she thinks to herself. Denkers knows how much of an impact she can have on them. Just like others have had on her. 

Denkers feels that positivity on the team as they pick each other up.  She feels that next play mentality among them all. It’s not just the seniors who are soaking that in and voicing that. It’s the rookies as well – and everyone in between. “Even when we’re down on the scoreboard, I don’t ever feel like we’re losing,” she noted. “And I think it’s really special.” 

Perhaps that fits with her nature – the competing and working. Perhaps it’s another way of staying positive and believing that things will work out. 

The Marauders have gone through their learning experiences in the first half of the season. There have been highs and lows as they sit at 5-5. “We knew it was going to take until second term to iron out a lot of kinks and just learn and gain this experience,” Burns said. “This weekend, we learned a lot.” 

Denkers also knows they will learn from the experience of playing Carleton and Ottawa – two top-tier teams. She knows the opportunities ahead of them – a chance to put in more work during the winter break before 12 more regular season games. A chance to control what they can control. 

“I’m proud of a lot of the things of the things that we did,” she said. Denkers knows her teammates and coaches. She knows how they’ll stick together and come out stronger in the new year.  

What will that look like? Maybe those practices will become more physical going forward. Maybe Denkers will be at the centre of it all – hustling for loose balls, going up for rebounds and sprinting the floor. Maybe they’ll see that hard work pay off in 2024 or the next time they face the Ravens.

When that happens, Jordan Denkers will be loving it all. 

Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics