Brotherly Battle Between Jenkins, Britt For National Title Has Pittsburgh Ties
HOUSTON (KDKA/AP) - He shoots. He scores. And Villanova wins.
Kris Jenkins of Villanova wasn't about to be outdone.
Jenkins overcame the shock of watching North Carolina's Marcus Paige hit a double-clutch 3 to tie it by spotting up behind the right side of the arc and draining a 3 of his own at the buzzer to lift Villanova to a 77-74 victory and the national championship Monday night.
What a shot - and what a game.
The second-seeded Wildcats (35-5), had a six-point lead with 1:52 left, but watched it slowly trickle away. Then, it was gone, when Paige jumped - and when Ryan Arcidacono started running at him - double clutched and pumped one from beyond the arc to tie the game at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
After a timeout, Arcidacono worked the ball upcourt and got it to Jenkins, who swished it from about two steps behind the 3-point line.
"Kris told him he was going to be open, Arch made the perfect pass," Villanova coach Jay Wright explained. "Kris lives for that moment."
A few moments later, Jenkins was leaping over press row, hugging his family and shouting: "They said we couldn't, they said we couldn't, they said we couldn't."
Oh yes, they could.
It's Villanova's first title since 1985, when Rollie Massimino coaxed a miracle out of his eighth-seeded underdogs for a victory over star-studded Georgetown.
Hard to top this one, though.
Jenkins, who was adopted by the family of North Carolina guard Nate Britt, now has a spot with Keith Smart, Lorenzo Charles and anyone else who ever made a late game-winner to win the whole thing.
Jenkins and Britt first met as 10-year-olds playing AAU basketball in the Washington, D.C. area.
Eventually, Jenkins started playing for a team coached by Britt's father and spending lots of time at the Britts' home - especially when Jenkins' mother, Felicia, was spending almost all of her time at the hospital with her ailing infant daughter. Kori was 11 months old when she died.
When Felicia Jenkins, a former college basketball player, got a job coaching at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, she felt it would be best for Kris to stay with the Britts in Maryland permanently. In 2007, the Britts became Jenkins' legal guardians.
"It's been the greatest decision that's ever happened in my life," Jenkins said.
While Jenkins and Britt grew up outside of Washington, D.C., they have extended family right here in the Pittsburgh area. And this game clearly divided their loyalties, but also brought them together. No matter which team won, they were going to be happy.
The Ricketts' family held a watch party Monday night and celebrated both young men. They were rooting for both Villanova and UNC.
"We're just happy that they're both there, they're both healthy and they both could play," Crystal Frierson, an aunt to the boys, said.
"We're voting for both of them to win," said Sandy Swann, another aunt to the boys.
More than 20 members of the family attended the party
"They support each other every day. That's the way we are," said Derek Ricketts, an uncle.
"We're a competitive family," added Al Ricketts, a cousin. "They're playing to win. We hate to lose."
Villanova coach Jay Wright said Britt, not Jenkins, was his priority when he took a recruiting visit to the Britt home.
"We liked Kris, but we thought he's overweight and he's not going to do all the stuff we do," Wright said.
But the 6-foot-6 Jenkins, who weighed as much as 280 pounds back in high school, liked what he heard from Wright. He ended up committing to Villanova, and dropping 40 pounds, and Britt chose North Carolina.
When the Tar Heels and Wildcats played each other in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Jenkins and Britt watched the game together, rooting for their future schools - and not talking to each other. They trash texted each other and didn't even sit on the same couch.
"That was fun," Britt said. North Carolina won 78-71.
The Britts have spent the past few weeks bouncing around the country watching their sons play.
Last weekend, they managed to attend all four Elite Eight games, two in Philadelphia (where North Carolina played) and two in Louisville (were Villanova played). Jenkins even attended North Carolina's East Regional championship victory against Notre Dame.
Nate Britt, the 6-1 guard who averages 5.5 points off the bench, said he does not know which section his parents and sister will be sitting Monday night.
"I tried to ask them how they would remain neutral, what they would wear, but they didn't tell me," Britt said.
Jenkins, second on Villanova in scoring (13.5 per game), remains close with his birth parents. He says he has two families. And he roots for North Carolina all the time. Well, almost.
"I do hope he plays well," Jenkins said. "I hope he's injury free and things like that. But there's nobody in the world I want to beat more than my brother."
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