How Homeschooling Helped Jumpstart Robert Jennings II’s College Basketball Career

STILLWATER — As a high schooler, Robert Jennings II was told that if he went the homeschool route, he’d be mid-major at-best. Well, he went that route and has since started 42 games in the toughest conference in America across the past three seasons.

A 6-foot-7 junior forward at Oklahoma State, Jennings was homeschooled for his final two years of high school. The COVID pandemic played into the decision, as what high school basketball was going to look like was uncertain, and he said his mother, Carolyn Jennings, was big on grades. Jennings was still able to play as part of the Texas Alliance of Christian Athletes, but it was a big decision to make.

“I took a step out on faith, and I trusted God,” Jennings said. “I prayed about it. Me and my mom sat down and talked about it. Me and my coaches talked about it. They were like, ‘If you believe in yourself and you put the work in, anything is possible.’ So when they told me that, I was like, ‘Oh, all I gotta do is my part.’ I went in and I did my part.

“I dedicated a lot of time. I was in the weight room. I changed my body, changed my eating habits, started working out more. From there, it was just like go out on the court and perform. The homeschool did a great job of giving me a schedule. I played everybody that I could think of. I played (DFW power) Duncanville — like I’ve seen all of them schools. They put me on a platform to be successful.”

In more ways that one, the move helped jump start Jennings’ basketball career. Jennings said he wasn’t even able to get Division-II scholarships before making the switch. By the end of his high school career, Jennings had offers from Texas Tech, SMU, LSU, Houston, Texas A&M, TCU, Penn State, Ole Miss and others.

He signed with the Red Raiders and made an instant impact in Lubbock, playing in 30 games as a true freshman and breaking into Tech’s starting lineup four times. Tech made the NCAA Tournament in Jennings’ sophomore season (Tech’s first under Grant McCasland), and Jennings played in 31 games and made 10 starts.

Jennings said the homeschool schedule helped him transition into college because it was similar to what he was already doing. He was even taking some college courses as a high schooler. He said he’d have class in the morning before heading to the gym and then doing his homework. Then he’d rest, recover and do it again the next day.

“The worst part is probably just, coming from a public school, you don’t get to interact with as many people,” Jennings said. “It’s kinda just you, school, you have a few other people that’s being homeschooled. But it’s kinda just you have your teammates. You don’t get to interact. You don’t get to have the little lunch where you meet up with all your homies. It’s nothing like that.

“The best part probably just being able to find myself, and then it also gave me the time to sit down and dedicate some time to the game, find my love for the game and make the decision on what I really wanted to do. I feel like when I went homeschooled, it really opened my eyes, like, ‘OK, I can really do this.’ It gave me more time to workout. It gave me time to put into my body, less distractions. That was the best and worst part of it.”

Jennings transferred to Oklahoma State this past offseason. He joins Bryce Thompson as the only Cowboys to start all 28 of OSU’s games thus far. He’s averaging 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, which are both career-highs. He’s shooting 84% from the foul line after shooting 71% at the stripe across two seasons at Tech. Jennings has scored in double figures five times this season, with his best performance being his 16-point, 11-rebound double-double against Florida Atlantic in Charleston.

Not bad for a guy who was struggling to pick up Division-II offers and was told the best he could do if he was homeschooled would be playing mid-major basketball.

“I went homeschooled and I was put in a different light,” Jennings said. “I was forced to become a leader. I was forced to put myself in uncomfortable positions. When I went to the gym and stuff, I was actually working on stuff that I was actually having to translate to the game. As I got older and I matured, homeschool helped me mature. I went back and looked at my film, and I realized I really wasn’t the player that I thought I was. That’s what really grew me. I looked at where I came from and where I was, and I was like, it’s the dedication and the work. Simple as that.”