By: Anthony Barrett
The last time Villanova played North Carolina in the Final Four, Nate Britt Jr. and Kris Jenkins, were in high school. This year, the brothers were on opposing teams, Kris Jenkins playing for Villanova and Nate Britt Jr. playing for North Carolina.
Jenkins and Britt Jr. are not brothers by blood. After his mother, Felicia Jenkins, decided to give her son a better life, Jenkins was adopted into the Britt household in 2007. The Jenkins’ and Britt’s first met each other through an AAU (Amaturer Athletic Union) basketball team.
Kris Jenkins committed to Villanova after he averaged 18.3 points as a senior in high school and was named the 2012–13 Boys Basketball All-Met Player of the Year by the Washington Post. Jenkins also hit the game winning shot against his brother and Carolina to win the National Championship 77-74 on April 4th, 2016.
Nate Britt Jr. attended high school at Oak Hill Academy, where he played soccer, football, and basketball. Britt missed 2 months of his senior basketball season due to a torn meniscus in his right knee, which he had to have surgery on. The injury did not affect his recruitment, and Britt committed to North Carolina, taking home the 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year award in Washington D.C.
Jenkins first started spending extended time with the Britt’s when his grades and off court behavior took turn for the worse. His mother became concerned with the direction of Kris’s life and asked Nate Britt Sr, an ex-cop and discipline junkie, to take in Kris full time. She thought Britt Sr. would provide structure, consistency, and could turn Kris’s life around.
“Understand it was the most difficult decision I made in my life,” Felicia Jenkins told SB Nation. “But I knew I had to make it in order to make sure he had the best opportunity.”
Jenkins described the situation as tough at first; however, he got used to it.
“The whole family just made me feel so welcome, and they accepted me for who I was and elevated me as a person and made me better,” Jenkins said, “It’s something that I’m always thankful for. I thank God for it every day.”
Although Jenkins now considers the Britt’s family, he is still very close with his birth parents.
The Britt’s drove over 700 miles between Philly (where Nate was playing) and Louisville (where Kris was playing) in hopes they could see both their sons teams win a trip to the Final Four.
Nate Britt Sr. described the final game as a “win win situation” because no matter the outcome of the game, one of his sons would be crowned champion.
