Former Northwestern Assistant Coach Mitch Henderson is leaving Welsh-Ryan to return to his alma mater, Princeton. Henderson coached the ‘Cats for 11 years yet he will return to the court that gave him collegiate success.
“I’m extremely grateful to Coach Carmody,” Henderson said in a press release. “I appreciate that he gave me the opportunity at a young age to work at one of the best universities in the world. Northwestern has been like a family to me and I will definitely miss it. I spent 11 great years there and I got to work with a great group of young guys. I will always be pulling for the Wildcats.”
Henderson started all four years at Princeton under head Coach Bill Carmody and helped lead his team to three Ivy League championships coinciding with three NCAA appearances.
Henderson was known for his toughness and his all around athletic ability in his four years as a Tiger. Commenting on his return after a multitude of injuries in his senior season in 1998, The Daily Princetonian wrote “the only way to keep Mitch Henderson off the court these days is with a restraining order.”
Henderson held talents outside of basketball as well, garnering 12 varsity letters in high school and a draft pick from the New York Yankees. He chose to pursue basketball and played a year for the Atlanta Hawks and a year in Ireland before starting at NU.
As a Wildcat, Henderson helped coach two of Northwestern’s strongest players, Jitim Young and Michael “Juice” Thompson. He coached the ‘Cats through two 20-win seasons in the past two years.
The Princeton Tigers won the 2011 Ivy League championship and lost to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“Princeton has made a great choice for it’s next head coach,” Carmody said in a press release. “I’ve been fortunate to witness first-hand Mitch’s growth as both a player and a coach and he will do a tremendous job.”