What's next for Trevon Jenifer after his latest world wheelchair basketball gold medal?

Trevon Jenifer has first-person experience with wheelchair basketball’s rapid evolution.

The chairs used are lighter, more aerodynamic and more durable than those used when he starred for the Edinboro University Fighting Scots.

More durable also is a way to describe the players he's competed with and against in the years since his 2011 graduation.

However, two things that haven’t changed. Jenifer’s love of the sport and, in the case of last month’s International Wheelchair Basketball Federation World Championships, love of success in the sport.

Jenifer, at 34, was one of the two oldest players for the United States men who won that tournament for a record seventh time. The Americans, who trailed by 11 points late in the first half, rallied for a 67-66 victory over Great Britain in the June 20 championship game at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The tournament was originally scheduled for 2022 but was postponed a year because of the FIFA World Cup.

U.S. coach Robert Taylor left Jenifer on the court for all 40 minutes of the final. The La Plata, Maryland, resident totaled 16 points, seven rebounds and one assist.

That victory avenged the Americans’ nine-point loss to Great Britain during the tournament’s pool play.

However, satisfaction didn’t end there for Jenifer.

“I was fortunate enough to play for our 2014 team that went to Incheon (South Korea), when we got a silver (medal) and the 2018 team that went to Germany, when we got a silver,” he said. “We came up short in those (championship) games, so to finally punch that ticket to become a world champion, that’s special.”

Had the Americans lost, Jenifer could take solace he still possesses medals from the last three Paralympics. He was on the roster for their bronze medal team at the 2012 Games in London and a gold medalist for the 2016 Games at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo.

The overall quality of international play was better each time according to Jenifer, who was born with a congenital amputation of his legs.

“Before 10 years ago, we were able to get by with our talent,” he said. “Top to bottom, we thought we were the best. Now, the world is catching up to us, so we have to have our best game each game.”

“We have to bring our 'A' game each night, because we can’t take any game for granted anymore.”

Former coach still in touch

Jim Glatch followed the fortunes of Jenifer and his American teammates from half a world away. The Meadville resident has coached the Edinboro men’s wheelchair basketball program since 1995.

Jenifer is one of four Edinboro players given first-team, All-America status during Glatch’s tenure. He’s also coached at the international level, which included coaching Jenifer with the U.S. team for the 2012 Paralympics.

Glatch said he and Jenifer last met in person during a wheelchair basketball camp in the Baltimore area shortly after Jenifer returned from Dubai. They also speak by phone on an almost weekly basis.

Glatch said he loves how humble Jenifer remains more than a decade after their formal coach-player relationship ended.

“If Tre isn’t one of the top 10 or top five players in the world, I’d be shocked,” he said. “He’s the best defensive player in the world. But the best thing is he doesn’t brag about that. That’s so refreshing.”

“To say he’s a great basketball player is accurate. But to say he’s just as humble is just as accurate.”

More: How did a Behrend men's basketball coach influence Justin Jennings' decision at Edinboro?

Last October, Jenifer was enshrined in Edinboro’s athletic hall of fame. However, he has been a prominent figure in the Scots’ wheelchair basketball program long since his last official appearance on McComb Fieldhouse’s court.

Jeremy Evans will be a senior for the 2023-24 Scots. The Attleboro, Massachusetts, native, through emails and texts, will occasionally pick Jenifer’s brain on how to better himself as a player and leader.

Evans considers it a privilege and honor that Jenifer has responded to the extent he has.

“Tre is the standard,” Evans said, “at least for the guys on the team who are more serious and competitive like myself. He’s who we want to be like and someone who’s paved the road for us. We can see what he went through and where he is now.”

“He set up the blueprint for us.”

Paris au revoir?

Evans mentioned the possibility of joining a professional wheelchair basketball league in Germany upon graduation from Edinboro.

Glatch also mentioned the proliferation of such leagues, particularly in Europe, and how they've become viable avenues for former Scots to resume their playing careers if they desire. He said Jose Leep, who was Edinboro’s initial first-team, All-America player in 2004-05, and Chayse Wolf (2019-20) have competed overseas.

“That’s been kind of fun to watch,” Glatch said. “If a player tells me now, ‘I want to play pro,’ I’ll tell them, ‘Look, it’s just like the guys in the NBA. Some make it. Some don’t.’ But at least it’s something for them to look forward to.”

That option is no longer viable for Jenifer, who parlayed his Edinboro bachelor’s degree in criminal justice into a job as a personnel security specialist with the United States Secret Service. He’s also a spokesman for Citibank and Comcast Corp.

Jenifer also is married. He and his wife, Laura, have two children, Saraeya, 7, and Keiden, 3.

Jenifer also acknowledged that, given his age, his playing career is deep into the fourth quarter. Glatch, though, was among those who convinced him to delay retirement and vie for a berth on the American roster for next year’s Paralympics in Paris.

Team USA will need to qualify for it through the Americas Zonal Championships. That tournament is scheduled Nov. 17-26 in Santiago, Chile.

Only then would Jenifer and his teammates receive a berth for the 2024 Games.

“That would be a storybook ending because I got my (international) start in 2009 in Paris,” he said. “If all goes well, we capture gold and it’ll be where I hang up my jersey.”

Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNcopper.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Edinboro grad Trevon Jenifer wins another wheelchair basketball title