Last year, one of the NCAA tournament’s neatest stories was the relationship between Villanova forward Kris Jenkins and North Carolina guard Nate Britt. The two players have a long history together, and because the world’s sometimes a funny place, they matched up head-to-head in the national championship game.
Villanova’s Kris Jenkins is watching adopted brother Nate Britt at Sweet 16
The two have a unique story together.
A decade before Villanova and UNC met in the title game, Britt’s family took Jenkins into its home and adopted him. Britt knew Jenkins through basketball, and when Jenkins’ mother was struggling and wanted her son to have a better life, the Britts adopted him. Jenkins has stayed close with his birth mother, who watched the Final Four in person last March. It’s a remarkable and heartwarming story.
Britt and Jenkins are legally brothers, even though they’re not related by blood. When the matchup came about in the Final Four last year, Jenkins called it “something our families could cherish forever.” An added twist: Jenkins became the game’s hero, when he hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer that won the championship for Villanova.
Jenkins’ moment meant heartbreak for Britt’s North Carolina. But it didn’t drive the two apart. There’s nothing to suggest the two have done anything other than keep rooting for each other in its wake.
This year has been the senior season for both Jenkins and Britt. Both of their teams were No. 1 seeds. Villanova suffered a second-round upset against Wisconsin, while North Carolina’s made it (so far) to the Sweet 16. The two aren’t going head-to-head again, but Jenkins was on hand Friday night to support Britt and his team.
That there are bigger things than sports is probably the single oldest adage about sports. It’s easy to say out loud, but Jenkins and Britt have lived it.
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