Princeton hires Henderson as coach

Published Apr. 20, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Princeton is keeping it in the family.

Northwestern assistant Mitch Henderson, who graduated from the school in 1998, has been tabbed to replace Sydney Johnson — who left to take the head-coaching position at Fairfield earlier in the month.

"I am pleased to announce that Mitch, one of Princeton's terrific point guards, will succeed his teammate, Sydney Johnson, as the head coach of Princeton basketball," Princeton athletic director Gary Walters said in a statement. "Mitch has developed and polished his craft at Northwestern, a Big Ten university that is similar in philosophy with its commitment to the student-athlete — with emphasis on both sides of that hyphen."

Henderson inherits a team that went to the NCAA tournament and earned a share of the Ivy League crown. Princeton beat Harvard in a one-game playoff.

Henderson was a four-year starter at Princeton and went to the NCAA tournament in each of his last three seasons. During his senior season, the Tigers were ranked as high as seventh in the nation.

Henderson has been on Bill Carmody's staff at Northwestern since 2000.