Princeton falls in NIT opener, and an uncertain offseason begins
Mitch Henderson answers questions about his departing seniors, the “new landscape” of college basketball and his own future.
PRINCETON – Matt Allocco and Zach Martini probably didn’t dream that they would get one more chance to play a competitive game inside Jadwin Gym, but the final buzzer Wednesday night delivered only a second dose of heartache.
Princeton landed in the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed after its upset loss to Brown in the Ivy Madness semifinals. The Tigers led UNLV by two at halftime before the Runnin’ Rebels raced past them in the second half for an 84-77 victory.
Martini made five 3-pointers and Blake Peters hit four, including a few from the NIT logos installed near midcourt. Caden Pierce tallied team highs of 22 points, six rebounds and five steals. But for the third straight game, Princeton allowed its opponent to shoot 55% or better – and UNLV made a whopping 15 of 22 shots (68.2%) in the second half.
It marked Princeton’s only home loss all season and the final stand for two program stalwarts. Players weren’t available postgame to comment, but it’s considered likely that Allocco and Martini will use a grad transfer year for their fifth and final season of eligibility.
“The seniors are bawling,” coach Mitch Henderson said. “I’ve done this long enough now to be like, ‘What a gift it is to coach those guys.’”
With the way the Rebels took advantage of their length and muscle (big man Rob Whaley Jr. is listed at 260 pounds), Henderson said UNLV was playing with “missiles” and Princeton with “sticks.” But it was also clear that Princeton had run out of steam as the season took its toll. Xaivian Lee battled through illness leading up to Ivy Madness, and Henderson indicated Allocco was never 100 percent since an unidentified injury in December.
“Again, they beat us,” Henderson said. “Xaivian, Dalen (Davis) and Mush (Allocco) are just hurt, not well, but … We need that length and we couldn’t stop ’em. They were so much bigger and faster, which, we hadn’t had that happen to us all season.”
It wasn’t the NCAA Tournament return trip the program dreamed of, but Princeton still hit multiple new markers of success in 2023-24. The Tigers sold out their games against Penn and Cornell, and the upper bowl of Jadwin was brimming plenty of other nights, too. Thanks to their high NET number, they hosted an NIT game for the first time since 1999 rather than be sent on the road.
When a program succeeds the way Princeton has, the sport takes notice.
Henderson – now Princeton’s head coach for 12 complete seasons with a .655 win percentage – has been linked to multiple power-conference coaching vacancies in media reports. Stanford and Vanderbilt are two tough jobs, but those schools could be drawn to a coach who’s thrived at a school with similar academic standards, and they both would offer a pay hike. The following is my own speculation, but if I were Michigan – needing a program reset and probably best served looking outside the “Michigan man” bubble for a change – why wouldn’t I seek an interview with a successful coach who spent a decade as a Big Ten assistant and recruits the Chicago area to great effect?
The money might be green at each of these places, but the grass is another story. Henderson can continue thriving, running up Ivy titles and making more NCAA trips at his alma mater, without having to move his family.
So I asked Henderson, 48, if he has ever envisioned himself retiring here.
“I haven’t thought about retiring, but this place means the world to me,” Henderson said. “I don’t think about myself in that sense (as an alum). I do feel, though, this year we had sellouts for the first time since the late ’90s and that means the world to me. It’s a culmination of this group, our administrative staff putting us in a position where we can sell those kinds of tickets. We had a really good team two years ago. We won the league outright, we were on the road as a seven seed (in the NIT) against VCU. Like, hosting tonight is a culmination of where we are and I think we’re rolling. I’m proud of that as a coach.
“I know I’m an alum. I don’t see myself that way. One day maybe I can feel that way, but not when you’re the coach here.”
Henderson was also asked about his foundation for next year – and he alluded to the possibility that even his Ivy Leaguers may be swayed to check out the transfer portal.
“It’s a good group,” he said. “A lot going on in college basketball, so I’d like to see everybody back.”
The two talismans are Pierce and Lee, both sophomores who had seasons worthy of Ivy League Player of the Year. Pierce won it; he wrapped his season averaging 16.6 points on 54.6% shooting with 9.2 rebounds per game and 14 double-doubles. Lee electrified fans with his breakout season, scoring 17.1 ppg with two 30-point outings and adding 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest. He’s at least a year off, but Lee’s name has begun to bubble up in NBA draft discussions.
For probably the first time, Princeton may be vulnerable to tampering. What if Lee or Pierce is approached with a promise of more visibility to scouts and a readymade NIL deal?
“I don’t have my head in the sand, I’ll tell you that,” Henderson said. “We’ve been working hard at it. It’s a new landscape.”
Assuming they come back, Princeton will return three starters, Peters being the third. Deven Austin will return to the floor after his year rehabbing a knee injury.
The question in Henderson’s mind is how the new crop of upperclassmen will perform as leaders and example-setters.
“The sophomores, terrific, very talented, had great years,” Henderson said. “Benefited from the sheer grinding of the senior class. We’re gonna be really different with the (new) seniors. Blake Peters is the only (rising) senior that’s played significant minutes. Can those guys now hold people to account, which has been a staple for us? Tosan (Evbuomwan) was constantly like, ‘That’s on me.’ And that comes with age.
“But they need to get away from the old man for a little bit. They gotta get away from my voice and go be students and enjoy the spring and the nice weather, and then we’ll get back together and talk about our goals for next season, which will be – we’ll have very heavy, lofty goals.”
Maybe that’s an indication Henderson plans to stay put. Maybe that’s reading too much into it, and the right offer, the one that could persuade him to leave Old Nassau, has yet to materialize.
There’s no doubt it’s a new landscape in college basketball. But it’s one where Princeton has recaptured its former status as a presence on the national stage. Time will tell if that means the accolades invite outside disruption.
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Greetings from Pittsburgh! By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be settling in to PPG Paints Arena for the first day of the NCAA Tournament, ready to cover every game at this first- and second-round site for Field Level Media.
With that in mind, there’s no chance I will have time to write the next edition of this newsletter until Monday at the earliest – no matter what happens tonight with Saint Peter’s when it takes on Tennessee in a 15-versus-2 game. The Peacocks caught all of us by surprise two years ago; I bet you this year that they’re going to be an upset pick for both casual bracketeers who remember the name and hoop-heads who doubt Tennessee coach Rick Barnes in March.
Speaking of Saint Peter’s, let’s start there as we clean the glass:
Writing about Henderson and the appeal of coaching your alma mater reminded me of the position Bashir Mason is in. Mason didn’t attend Saint Peter’s, but he’s from Jersey City. Here’s what he said on MAAC Media Day when I asked him what the job meant to him:
“Wagner was really my first job, and kind of after college where I grew up. Really difficult to leave a place that I consider to be home. But there is no place like home, and for me Jersey City, where I’m born and raised, to have an opportunity to take over an Elite Eight-level program was an opportunity of a lifetime. To have a chance to be the leader of the program right now means everything to me. To be able to bring a championship back to Jersey City, where I’m from, it would mean the world. So daily, we’re working, we’re grinding with that vision in mind.”
I wonder how the Peacocks will approach guarding Dalton Knecht, the Tennessee wing and SEC Player of the Year capable of dropping 30 or 40 points at will. Double team? You’re leaving open Josiah-Jordan James or Zakai Zeigler or Jonas Aidoo. The Saint Peter’s knock-em-down, drag-em-out style of D might not stymie a Volunteers team that plays lockdown defense of its own.
This is a cool matchup for another reason: Saint Peter’s freshman Armoni Zeigler gets to play against his older brother, Tennessee junior Zakai Zeigler. Armoni averaged 6.4 points and 2.6 rebounds this year while shooting 35.4% from three; Zakai, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, put up 11.9 points, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Back in the NIT, Seton Hall advanced with a 75-72 overtime win over Saint Joseph’s. The Pirates fumbled a late four-point lead before Al-Amir Dawes played the hero, making the 3-pointer that forced overtime and the three that put Seton Hall ahead for good. He put up 14 3-point attempts, made six and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds on a night when Kadary Richmond couldn’t get his shot going, Dre Davis went 5-for-17 and Jaden Bediako was in foul trouble. The Pirates face North Texas on Saturday and would get either Boston College or UNLV in the third round.
Rutgers players in the portal now include Cliff Omoruyi, Mawot Mag, Derek Simpson, Antwone Woolfolk and, on the ladies’ side, Kaylene Smikle. I would have been surprised if Omoruyi came back for a fifth season, based on what I had heard. He and Mag still spent the typical four-year stint at Rutgers, but they’ll look elsewhere for their COVID year opportunity.
Also tonight: The Seton Hall women visit Saint Joe’s in the first round of the new WBIT, and Monmouth plays at Buffalo to open the WNIT. In case you missed it, I wrote a feature about the Monmouth women’s team last week. Ariana Vanderhoop and the Hawks could do some damage in a tournament like this.