HOUSTON — Kris Jenkins and Nate Britt, brothers in every way except blood, are giving each other the silent treatment for about 48 hours.
Maybe they will exchange a “good luck” or a fist bump before Jenkins and Villanova face Britt and North Carolina on Monday night in the NCAA tournament’s championship game. Otherwise, Jenkins said, “no talking.”
It’s the biggest competition yet between a couple of guys who grew up trying to beat each other in everything. While the game between the Wildcats and Tar Heels might be a no-lose situation for the Britt family, for the players involved there will definitely be only one winner.
“Whoever wins the game, obviously the other one is going to be hurt and going to feel bad,” Britt said. “That’ll be permanent bragging rights for the rest of our lives.”
Jenkins and Britt met as 10-year-olds playing AAU basketball in the Washington 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 in Columbia, South Carolina, she felt it would be best for Kris to stay with the Britts in Upper Marlboro, 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.
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. The two played three years together at Gonzaga College High School; Britt transferred to Oak Hill Academy, on the Virginia/North Carolina state line, for his senior year.
When the Tar Heels and Wildcats played each other in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2013, Jenkins and Britt watched the game together, rooting for their future schools — and not talking to each other. They trash talked each other via text message and didn’t even sit on the same couch.
“That was fun,” Britt said, understandably, as 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, where Villanova played. Jenkins even attended North Carolina’s East Regional championship victory against Notre Dame.
They undoubtedly kept eyes on each other on Saturday, when North Carolina bounced upstart Syracuse and Villanova set a record with a 44-point victory over Oklahoma.
Villanova’s only national championship was one of the most famous upsets in the history of not just the NCAA tournament, but in all of American sports. The Wildcats upset Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in the final in 1985 with a near-perfect performance.
“It’s something we’re always reminded of,” Villanova freshman guard Jalen Brunson said.
North Carolina can win its sixth national championship in its 10th appearance in the title game. Coach Roy Williams can make history by becoming the sixth coach with at least three NCAA titles. He would match Bobby Knight and Jim Calhoun with three, and surpass his mentor and former North Carolina coach, the late Dean Smith.
Both teams like to play with two point guards on the floor at once. For Villanova, it’s Brunson and senior Ryan Arcidiacono. For North Carolina, it’s senior Marcus Paige and sophomore Joel Berry II.
“It’s always good to have multiple ball handlers and creators out there,” Paige said. “You saw [Saturday against Syracuse’s] zone, Joel was able to penetrate the gaps and I was able to knock down some shots. And, other nights, I have a matchup where I can get in the paint and create things, and Villanova does the same thing with Brunson and Arcidiacono.”
Britt, a 6-foot-1 guard who averages 5.5 points, plays for the Tar Heels off the bench. He 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 at 13.5 points per game, remains close with his birth parents. He said 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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