Henderson & Pierce Receive Major Awards, Three From Men's Basketball Named All-Ivy

Ivy League Release

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Ivy League announced its postseason awards Wednesday afternoon and the Princeton University men's basketball team won a pair of major awards as Mitch Henderson was named Coach of the Year and sophomore Caden Pierce Player of the Year. Pierce, along with sophomore Xaivian Lee, was named unanimous First Team All-Ivy, senior Matt Allocco Second Team All-Ivy and senior Zach Martini Academic All-Ivy.

Henderson earns Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career, also winning it in 2017. 2023-24 saw Henderson guide Tigers to a third-straight Ivy title, a second outright title in the past three years and a third-consecutive twenty-win season. Princeton is currently No. 19 in the RPI and is one of 13 teams to go undefeated at home. The Tigers have received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for 13 weeks and the Associated Press (AP) Poll for nine weeks in 2023-24.

The Tigers' winning percentage of 88.9 ranks No. 6 nationally and Princeton became the first DI team in the last 15 years to start 5-0 with four road wins. Each of the Princeton's first seven wins of the season took place in different venues. Princeton was the only team in the nation to win its first seven games in such fashion. Henderson has also led Princeton to an elite level of ball security as it leads the nation in least turnovers-per-game (8.1) and turnover percentage of (11.9%), which is turnovers divided by possessions. The Tigers also ranks fourth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.82).

Pierce, a five-time Ivy Player of the Week and the 2023 Rookie of the Year, becomes the first Tiger since Tosan Evbuomwan '23 to be named Player of the Year, with Evbuomwan winning the award in 2022. A Princeton player has been named Player of the Year in two out of the past three seasons and 15 times total.

Named to the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year Mid-Season Watch List, Pierce ranks second in the Ivy League in rebounding (9.3), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.0), sixth in scoring (15.7), sixth in free throw percentage (76.9), seventh in field goal percentage (54.6) and ninth in assists (3.2). Pierce's defensive rebound percentage of 27.8 ranks 14th nationally, his 7.44 defensive rebounds-per-game 14th and his 9.3 rebounds 40th. Pierce has 13 double-doubles in 2023-24.

On Mar. 9 in the Tigers' 103-85 victory over the University of Pennsylvania inside the Palestra, Pierce recorded a career-high 32 points on 11-for-17 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists. Pierce's 26 points and 15 rebounds against Hofstra on Nov. 10, 2023, marked the first time a Princeton player recorded at least 26 points and 15 rebounds since Bob Roma '79 on Dec. 6, 1978, in a 67-65 loss to Seton Hall inside Jadwin Gymnasium.

Lee, a two-time Ivy Player of the Week, earns All-Ivy honors for the first time in his career. He leads the Ivy League in assist/turnover ratio (2.6) and ranks third in scoring (17.7), third in assists (3.7), fourth in free throw percentage (81.3%) and seventh in rebounding (5.9). Of players who have played a minimum of 40% of the team's minutes and are used on at least 28% of possessions, Lee's offensive rating of 118.8 ranks sixth in the nation.

With two 30-point games in 2023-24, Lee became the first Tiger to accomplish the feat since Myles Stephens '19 in the 2017-18 season. He became the first Tiger since Jaelin Llewellyn '22 on Mar. 7, 2020, against Cornell to score 30 points in a game when he recorded 30 in Princeton's win over Northeastern on Nov 25.

Also a two-time Ivy Player of the Week, Allocco collects Second Team All-Ivy honors for the second-straight season. He's averaging 12.6 points and leads the Ivy League in free throw percentage (92.0), ranks second in in assist/turnover ratio (2.6), fourth in three-point percentage (42.7), fifth in assists (3.4), and tenth in field goal percentage (50.9). Allocco drilled his 100th career three-pointer on Feb. 24 in the Tigers' victory at Dartmouth and scored a career-high 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field, 5-for-6 from three and 4-for-4 from the free throw line and made the game-winning three-pointer against Furman on Dec. 2.

On Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 in victories over Brown and Dartmouth, Allocco averaged 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals. He played a full 40 minutes in both games without committing a turnover.

Martini, an English major, was rewarded for his high performance on the court and in the classroom. He's averaging 8.2 points along with 3.4 rebounds and has made multiple three-pointers in 14 different games this season. Martini's 2.0 three-pointers-per-game ranks 10th in the Ivy League. He had a career night at the Palestra on Mar. 9 in Princeton's win over Penn. He finished with a career-high 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 shooting from three, with his made field goals and made three-pointer also being career-highs.

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