ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Standing between Ben Johnson and a surprising 3-0 start to his first season as Gophers men's basketball coach is Princeton, a tough matchup for even the most experienced coaches in the game.
Gophers men's basketball takes on Princeton in Asheville Championship with familiarity on both sides
Gophers assistant Marcus Jenkins worked on Mitch Henderson's first staff at Princeton a decade ago.
November 13, 2021 at 11:34PM
The Gophers, who held off a late charge after nearly squandering a 16-point lead Friday, advanced to the Asheville Championship title game by defeating Western Kentucky.
Princeton, boasting a suffocating three-point defense and a disciplined backdoor cutting offense, is also 2-0 after upsetting South Carolina on Friday night.
To help the Gophers keep things rolling, Johnson might lean on knowledge from one of his top assistants. Marcus Jenkins spent four seasons working under current Princeton coach Mitch Henderson.
"I owe him a lot of credit," Jenkins said of Henderson, who is in his 10th season with the Tigers. "The situation there wasn't too dissimilar to this one [with the Gophers]. He was a first-time head coach when we got to Princeton. I was there on the ground with him when he first got the job."
Johnson is rebuilding the Gophers with 10 newcomers, so it wasn't farfetched to expect hard times to start this year. But they've had early success behind improved three-point shooting and the ability to close out games, including in a 71-56 opening win vs. Missouri Kansas City.
Jenkins has his hand in the Gophers offense, much like he did at his last stop as a Richmond associate head coach. He learned a lot of his style ideas from his Princeton days.
Johnson and Jenkins have put their heads together in forming Minnesota's new offensive system, making things run smoothly.
"I know Ben's got an idea of how he wants to play," Jenkins said. "It really fits well with my own idea of what good basketball is with spacing the floor, cutting and sharing the ball."
The Gophers have seen instant improvement in three-point shooting. After finishing last in the Big Ten shooting a single-season program-worst 28.4% on threes last season, the Gophers are fifth in the conference at 36.4% through two games. They also rank fifth in three-point shooting defense (27.8%).
On the opposing side, the Tigers lead the Ivy League in three-point defense (18.6%) and are fourth in three-point shooting (34.8%).
Henderson remembers the lift Jenkins gave Princeton's staff in 2011 after they hired him away from Richmond as a first-time assistant. Jenkins, an Air Force graduate, was the Spiders director of basketball.
"As good as he was on the court, it's hard to put into words how good he is in front of families," Henderson said of Jenkins. "It's a relationship building world in college basketball."
Henderson and Jenkins had a winning record in four seasons together at Princeton, including two postseason appearances and a runner-up Ivy League finish in 2012-13.
"Princeton obviously has a great tradition and history," Jenkins said. "It wasn't like we built it from the ground up, but we got it back to prominence. That was great being able to do that hand in hand with him."
As much as Sunday's matchup is a big step towards keeping the momentum going for both teams, Henderson can't help but to wish Jenkins success this season with the Gophers.
"We've become good close friends," Henderson said. "I know his wife, Melissa, is from the Minneapolis area. I really think he and Ben are going to do great things there."
Gophers’ final home game of season comes against Nittany Lions team in contention for College Football Playoff.
