Finally, Nate Britt can go home again. A year after his adoptive brother denied him a national championship, Britt has one of his own, completing one of the most improbable doubles in NCAA history.
Villanova’s Kris Jenkins, who hit the shot to beat North Carolina last year, was sitting behind the North Carolina bench Monday when Britt claimed a ring of his own.
“That sunk in more than anything else, that we have two rings in the household, two brothers in back-to-back years,” Britt said. “That’s the only thing that feels real as far as us winning and how excited everyone is back at campus and all of our fans, that hasn’t hit me yet.”
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Britt was at the epicenter of North Carolina’s loss last year; if anything, he felt a different kind of pain because he could only be so happy for Jenkins given the circumstances. One brother was going to win, the other was going to lose, and there was no way around it. It just happened that Jenkins, cruelly, delivered the final blow.
This year, it was not a zero-sum game. Jenkins had his ring, and the Wildcats were out of it early. Now Britt has his, and even he has to marvel at their championship brotherhood.
“That’s nearly impossible, especially with us meeting up in the championship last year and us winning this year,” Britt said. “That’s impossible.”
Luke DeCock: 919-829-8947, ldecock@newsobserver.com, @LukeDeCock
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