Men's Basketball: Henderson '98 named men's basketball head coach

Henderson, a three-year teammate of Johnson, was a point guard on the Princeton team that upset University of California, Los Angeles in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. He has spent the last 11 years as an assistant coach at Northwestern University under former Princeton head coach Bill Carmody.

“Mitch has developed and polished his craft at Northwestern, a Big 10 university that is similar in philosophy with its commitment to the student-athlete — with emphasis on both sides of that hyphen,” Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67 said in a University release.

Henderson takes charge of a team that completed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in program history, improving from a 6-23 record in 2008 to a 25-7 finish, a share of the Ivy League championship and an NCAA Tournament berth last season.

“I’ve never stopped being a fan since I’ve graduated,” Henderson said in the release. “When [junior guard] Doug [Davis]’s shot went through the net [to beat Harvard and clinch an NCAA Tournament bid], I jumped off my couch, I was so happy. I was excited for Sydney and his staff and for the team. I feel like I know our guys already.”

The team was introduced to Henderson at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Though Davis said the introductions went well, the transition is by no means complete.

“It’s going to be a process. It’s not going to happen overnight,” Davis said. “But time will tell. He’s definitely a good guy. He’s an alumnus; he’s a Tiger.”

The past few weeks have been tough for the team, as coping with Johnson’s departure has not been easy for many of the players. But Davis said that enough time had passed to prepare the team for a new coach.

“He’s the guy that we committed to coming here. It was hard on us, but it’s been a couple of weeks,” Davis said of Johnson’s departure. “That gave us some time to gear ourselves for a new coach. We’re ready for that, and we’re ready to welcome Coach Henderson.”

Henderson started as a player during all four years of his Princeton career and played in the NCAA Tournament in three of those seasons. In his final year, the Tigers were ranked as high as No. 7 nationally.

“This is an exciting segue in the great tradition of Princeton basketball,” Walters said. “We look forward to the future with a heightened sense of anticipation and excitement. Mitch played on some of Princeton’s best teams with passion, energy and integrity, values that also reflect his approach to coaching. He has strong relationships with his players, and we believe our student-athletes at Princeton will benefit from that experience and his character.”

As a rising senior, Davis said that he will do all he can to help Henderson adjust to leading the team. Making sure the team plays hard and puts in effort early in the season will make the transition period much easier for both Henderson and the team, Davis said.

“We have to go out there and compete with high intensity every time out,” Davis said. “That will make it much better for Coach Henderson.”