DRIVE TIME: Princeton University men’s basketball player Jackson Hicke drives around a teammate in a recent practice. Junior guard Hicke figures to be a key performer for a Tiger squad that doesn’t have any seniors. Princeton opens its 2025-26 season by playing at Akron on November 8. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Even though its 2025-26 season hasn’t even started, the Princeton University men’s basketball team appears to have already made some program history.
For the first time that anyone can remember, the team’s roster will include no seniors as its trio of juniors from last year, Xaivian Lee, Caden Pierce, and Jack Scott, have all left the team. Lee transferred to the University of Florida, Pierce decided to sit out his senior year and play elsewhere next year with his last season of eligibility and Scott has headed to Duke.
While Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson is showing more gray hair as he turned 50 this summer, it is not because of the lack of seniors on his squad.
“I love the team; there are no seniors for the first time in Princeton basketball history, I think, which is really interesting,” said Henderson, whose team went 19-11 last winter, faltering down the stretch as it went 3-5 in its last eight games. “The guys are completely locked in. The guys have been great, it has been a lot of fun.”
Youth will be served by necessity with the squad’s lack of seniors.
“The three juniors, Jacob Huggins (2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in 2024-25), Jackson Hicke (5.5 points, 2.7 rebounds), and Dalen Davis (9.2 points, 2.0 rebounds) have played the most amount of minutes, they have been fantastic,” said Henderson, speaking at the program’s annual media day. “I think Dalen turned 21 yesterday. We might be the youngest team in the country which is fun. We should embrace that, our youth should be a strength. We have really good sophomores and freshmen as well. Everybody is young. I just see joy across the board.”
Junior guard Hicke believes youthful enthusiasm will be a strength.
“I think it is kind of a collection of people who have got to step up,” said Hicke. “The three juniors, me, Dalen and Huggs, are captains who all need to pull more weight this year in the leadership aspect of it but I think a lot of our sophomores are helping out too. A lot of them played a lot of minutes last year. I think we are really coming together as a group to lift each other up. We are a young team, we know that. We think that we are a really close-knit group and that holding each other accountable will get us there.”
Henderson sees Hicke as a key piece this winter. “Hicke been awesome,” said Henderson. “When people leave there is room for others to grow. Generally that happens when you are a senior, we just happen to be doing that all a year in advance. Jackson has been great, he has been vocal. Him, Dalen and Huggins have been terrific. I can’t ask for anything more. We haven’t played any games yet, we are going to learn an awful lot.”
The Tigers will learn a lot early on as they start the season by playing at Akron on November 8 before hosting Bucknell on November 11.
“We play 10 games in 23 days, we are going to make some mistakes,” said Henderson. “Our record may not look so good because the schedule is so hard. Patience is going to be crucial but I would love to see some things emerge out of that. We are trying some new things. We would like to see that take hold because when we play Penn on January 5, we will be ready to go.”
In Henderson’s view, his group of freshmen is ready to contribute right away.
“We are going to play a lot of guys, we have five freshmen and they are probably all going to play,” said Henderson. “Landon Clark is probably going to see a little bit more minutes. They are all going to play. Sebastian Whitfield and Jacob Hammond are very athletic in the mold of Myles Stephens. It is a really strong, fit group. Jake Sussberg has been drilling shots, he looks just like Ryan Langborg. Cash McSweeney is kind of a typical Princeton post. I love the freshmen, they are going to help us. They have to play.”
The team’s quartet of sophomores, Jack Stanton (2.5 points, 0.8 rebounds), CJ Happy (5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds), Peyton Seals (3.5 points, 1.2 rebounds), and Malik Abdullahi (4.3 points, 2.7 rebounds) will be playing a key role this winter.
“I think we are going to surprise a lot of people because they haven’t been seen,” said Henderson. “Jack has done great, he did everything we asked him to do this summer. He is a leader, he is loud. He plays with a fire. Seals lost some weight, he looks great, he is fit. CJ also had a great summer. We don’t have anybody like Malik. He has made a huge jump. He is playing on the perimeter now. Last year we had him in a different role. He works really well with Dalen and Huggins. I think he could be a great defender, an elite defender. They are anxious to get on the court and show people what they can do.”
Hicke, for his part, believes that the Tigers can do some good things this winter.
“I think we are going to have a deep team this year, a lot of the freshmen look really good,” said Hicke. “We are still learning, it is still early in the year. We are going to have a couple of them playing for sure. The sophomores feel like upperclassmen to me now. A lot of people look at us, the juniors, to step up more because of no seniors, but is just as much on them and they have gone a great job of stepping up. I feel like I am playing with them for much longer than a year now. They have all been great.”
The 6’5, 200-pound Hicke, a native of Radnor, Pa., has worked hard to get to make a make a big impact on and off the court.
“It is just being in better shape with conditioning,” said Hicke.
“Playing a little more this year, you have to be able to do that. Then there is the leadership aspect. I am an upperclassman now and there is no senior so I can’t just focus on myself. We are going to have freshmen play for us this year, I also have to look at them and look at the sophomores and make sure they all know what they are doing when they are out there in the game.”
Over the summer, Hicke excelled in the 3×3 game as he helped Team USA earn silver at the World University Games in Bochum, Germany.
“It was such a cool experience, to not only get to go overseas but 3-on-3 is such a fun style of basketball,” said Hicke. “I think we are well suited for it just from what we do here. It is a lot of passing, cutting, making reads and stuff. I think it helped a lot. It has taught me to play against bigger and more physical guys. We will be seeing some older teams this year, especially in the non-conference games so learning to play with that physicality a little bit more and having the ball in my hands when doing that will pay dividends this year.”
Henderson sees powerful guard Dalen Davis as providing the Tigers with some physicality in the backcourt this winter.
“Everything I asked him to do in the spring and through the summer and to now, he has done all of it,” said Henderson of Davis.
“He is a leader not necessarily super vocal all of the time but when he does say something his words carry weight and people listen. He is our best player and our most consistent.”
In Hicke’s view, Davis is poised for a super season. “Dalen has looked awesome this year, I am super excited for what he has in store,” said Hicke. “I think people underestimate his ability to run the offense and be a point guard. He is such a great scorer and everybody knows that. This year we are playing a little different style and he starts that for us. He gets us organized, he is pushing us down the floor, getting us to spots finding the open guy. I think a big year is in store for Dalen.”
Despite the team’s lack of experience, Henderson believes that the Tigers can have a big year.
“We have been working really hard, I just keep saying those are the things that matter for us the most,” said Henderson. “I think with the league, we have a real shot at it. We have to get to the league having played a lot of minutes for guys who have never played. Maybe what we are trying to do won’t work but I am pretty confident that it is the right way. Their energy for each other and towards one another is perfect and I wouldn’t change it. It is a real gift to be around them.”
Hicke is confident that this will come together for the Tigers.
“It is definitely a different team this year,” said Hicke. “I think our style of play is going to be a little different. It is very team-oriented so it is going to be a lot of different guys that are going to contribute and complement one another.”