Miami Five-Star Freshman Shelton Henderson Dominates Against FIU

The Miami Hurricanes' basketball team is off to a strong start to the 2025-26 campaign.

Led by a pair of newcomers, first-year head coach Jai Lucas' squad is 10-2 on the season and has notched wins against the likes of Georgetown and Mississippi early on. The group's only two losses have come at the hands of Florida and BYU.

After reaching the Elite 8 in 2022 and the Final 4 in 2023, the Hurricans haven't reached the NCAA Tournament in the past two season, but have a chance to return to March Madness this season.

A large part of the team's success has come from true freshman forward Shelton Henderson, a former five-star recruit.

In Tuesday's contest against FIU, Henderson errupted for 30 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, a steal and 0 turnovers in a 98-81 victory for Miami. The Houston-area product shot 10-of-12 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line against the Panthers.

In his first 12 games with the Hurricanes, Henderson is averaging 13.2 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 60% from the field and 27.3% from 3-point range. Hailing from Bellaire High School, the highly touted prospect was rated the No. 23 overall prospect and No. 6 small forward in the 2025 recruiting class.

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, Henderson has good size for a wing player, and has the strength and power to succeed at the next level. Currently, the Miami standout is best when attacking downhill and finishing at the rim, a skill that should be valuable to NBA teams.

Additionally, Henderson is a solid defender, which should also add to his value. The freshman wing isn't much of a threat from beyond the arc, though, and needs to improve as a perimeter shooter to become more viable rotation piece at the next level.

In what looks to be a crowded 2026 NBA Draft class that includes a number of talented freshman including AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, Nate Ament, Mikel Brown Jr., and a number of other potential first-round picks.

While Henderson isn't on the same level as the aforementioned players, he has the chance to elevate himself into first-round conversations with a strong performance in ACC competition.

In league play, Henderson will compete against the likes of Boozer, Brown, Caleb Wilson, Neoklis Avdalas and a number of other draft prospects.

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