'He's One of the Best Freshman I've Coached': Jai Lucas Raves About Star Freshman
In this story:
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — "He doesn't look like a freshman," FIU head coach Jeremy Ballard said after losing to Miami 98-81.
The Miami Hurricanes had a five-star freshman last season, but it did not pan out the way many had hoped for him and the program. Then again, the disastrous year when former head coach Jim Larranaga retired. The Hurricanes program wasn't in the best shape; however, it has started to mold back into a team that was consistently in the NCAA Tournament.
Now heading into ACC play, the Hurricanes are 11-2, led by first-year head coach Jai Lucas and his assortment of recruited talent from all over the world, highlighted by five-star freshman Shelton Henderson.
"He's one of the best freshman I've coached." Lucas said about the growing star after his career night. "in a sense of his physicality and his ability to just play through contact. I think the big thing today and the growth I was so happy for him for was his free throw shooting. He spent a lot of time and a lot of hours with his free throw shooting. It's been all It's just not recent, it's been all season and to see it finally click for him and hopefully give him some confidence for it to grow and get there."
Henderson bullied the Panthers inside the paint all night, getting to his 30-piece. He finished 10-12 from the field and 10-11 from the charity stripe. Not only was this his best game as a Hurricane, but it was also the most promising sign for the growing program in Coral Gables.
Henderson also showed his versatility against the Panthers. He has started to get some minutes running the offense with another standout freshman, Dante Allen, who is out with a hand injury. In those minutes, he was able to lean back into his older self. He grew up playing point guard throughout his AAU and high school career, and Lucas has allowed him to increase his abilities on the floor.
"I've watched Shelton play since he was in the seventh grade, and all the way until this year," Lucas said. He's been a point guard. You know, that was his primary position in high school, AAU, middle school. He played the point guard position. Now, his point guard position was a little bit different, more like a bully.
"We put him at the point in the summer. We put him at the point in other games. This one was a little bit, I guess, more where you could see it more, but we put him one through four. He plays all four tonight. You're able to plug and play him in so many positions. That's what makes him special, and that's what helps us and can make us special."
It helps when he has an outstanding guard to lean on as well. Senior guard Tre Donaldson has recorded three double-doubles (assists and points) in a row and two back-to-back games with 12 assists. Henderson credits some of his guard ability to the veteran learning the ropes from him.
"Learning the game being a bigger guard, and just learning fromTre," Henderson said. "Talk to Trey about a lot of stuff about how to be a point guard, how to facilitate a team. So I think as the games goes on, coach puts the ball in my hands to be like a one get more comfortable and it's going to help me and the team a lot."
It also helps when others trust him with the ball at any time. The team's leading scorer, Malik Reneau emphised this after the game.
"We trust Shelton with the ball too when he brings it up the court," Reneau said. "Not only just Tre, Noam [Dovrat], and Tru [Washington], but Shelton can also handle the rock, and we trust him. He gets up there at that point guard position to put his hand."
The game is starting to slow down for the rising star freshman. As more games continue, the more his game will expand. It could get to the point where he could end up being a late first-round pick. But for now, he is taking it game by game as a shift begins to shake the ceiling for the Canes.
Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.
Read More Miami Hurricanes News:
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.