Miami Freshman Draws Comparisons to San Antonio Spurs Star
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CORAL GABLES — This time last year, there were questions of uncertainty surrounding the Miami Hurricanes basketball team. They had talented players, but with the lack of a true NIL budget and a head coach who was behind the times, the Canes were in a bad spot.
They finished the season 7-24 with legendery head coach Jim Larranaga retiring the day after Christmas and losing the highest overall recruit in program history, Jalil Bethea, to the transfer portal. All seemed lost until former assistant coach of Duke, Jai Lucas, walked into the building.
Now with a fully funded team and NIL ready to spend, he has flipped this roster around and has the chance to make the NCAA Tournament in his first season as a head coach. Moreover, he could have a first-round pick on his hands as well.
Many players followed Lucas to Coral Gables, but none more important than former Duke signee Shelton Henderson. Not only has Henderson impressed everyone around him, but he is also starting to get comparisons to former UConn star and the 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle.
"I think the person who comes to mind when watching the NBA, Stephon Castle and how he was used and how they played him at UConn, and how he's being used in the NBA as a guy that has multiple positions, and then Shelton also has the ability to be a lockdown defender as well," Lucas said during his Meida Day press confrence. "I like to use that as his kind of player comp, but he's also his own person and his own too.
Henderson is a physical player and stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs 240 lbs. He has gained 15 pounds of muscle since joining the Hurricanes over the summer and is now ready to take the court and college basketball world by storm.
Lucas is excited for him. He has an opportunity to be the next rising freshman at Miami, similar to how Malachi Toney has taken over as the main attraction on campus.
"I think he has the opportunity to," Lucas said about Henderson's impact this season. "I think his impact on the game will be seen right away, and like we talked about, his poise earlier, but also his ability to make everyone better is one thing I think is underrated for him.
"People will look at him and see him and think he's just some downhill physical presence, but his basketball IQ and his ability to pass and make reads will be something that surprises a lot of people. And he's a guy who will play four positions for us. You know, we can put him at the four. He'll place a point guard. He'll play on the wing. So we'll use him all over the court."
The Hurricanes open the 2025-26 campaign on Nov. 3 to face Jacksonville.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
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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.