Mitch Henderson ’98, the Franklin C. Cappon-Edward G. Green ’40 head coach of Princeton men’s basketball, has completed his coaching staff for the upcoming season.

Ben Botts, most recently a graduate assistant coach at Xavier University in Cincinnati, has been named the Director of Basketball Operations. Brett MacConnell, who served during the 2012-13 season in that role, has taken an assistant coaching position on the staff following the departure of Dan Geriot to Campbell University. Under Henderson, Botts and MacConnell join Brian Earl, who completed his sixth season as a Princeton assistant coach, and Marcus Jenkins, who has been an assistant coach at Princeton for the last two seasons.

"Ben is a leader on the floor and also has a great work ethic and a passion for the game," Henderson said. "I believe he will be a great role model to our players. I’m very pleased that Ben is joining the Tiger basketball family."

Botts spent two years at Xavier, where his primary responsibilities included directing the program’s video operations, film breakdown, film exchange, and evaluation edits for Xavier players. Botts also assisted the coaching staff in on-court activities during practice, advance scouting, on-campus recruiting, and team academics. In addition to his basketball duties, he also attained his master’s degree in sport administration while at Xavier.

"I am truly blessed to join Coach Henderson’s staff at Princeton University," Botts said. "The program has an unmatched combination of great basketball tradition and academic and moral standards that is hard to find anywhere else. I am excited for this great opportunity."

Prior to joining the staff at Xavier, Botts started four years at guard for under coach Dane Fife at IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was a three-year captain for a team that set school record for wins each of his four seasons. He retired as the school’s all-time leader in 3-point percentage (.445), second all-time leader in 3-point field goals made (237), and fourth all-time leader in scoring. In 2010 and 2011, he was named IPFW’s Athlete of the Year. He was a 2011 second-team All-Summit League selection. In 2010 and 2011, Botts was named to the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team. Botts was also a Capital One Academic All-District Selection in 2011. While at IPFW, Botts graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

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