Over the last half-decade or so – give or take – there have been a few times when people thought Duke recruiting would be in trouble.
First, it was when Mike Krzyzewski took on the Team USA coaching position. Remember? John Feinstein said it was bound to hurt Duke’s recruiting. Coach K said no, he thought it would help. And he was right.
Then it was when Jeff Capel left for Pitt. He was supposed to take the hot recruiting with him. Remember?
If anything, Duke’s recruiting got better after he left, though it was hard to imagine it at the time.
Then Krzyzewski announced his retirement in 2021, things were expected to change. No way Jon Scheyer could keep recruiting at the same level.
Only it stayed at a very high level. Then the NIL and transfer rules provided another earthquake. Again, things were expected to tail off.
Nope.
Scheyer is recruiting phenomenally well. Just brilliantly, and now he’s added Shelton Henderson to next year’s class, which already had the Boozer twins, Cameron and Cayden, and Nik Khamenia, a highly promising forward from California.
If you’re wondering how good he might be, check out these comments from Brendan Marks:
“…Henderson’s skill set isn’t as advanced as his body is, he’s still more than capable of making an impact as a freshman…Henderson’s defensive aptitude and ability to guard multiple positions will fit well with Scheyer’s preferred coaching philosophy, which is predicated on smothering opponents with length defensively.
“Offensively, Henderson is a bit more of a work in progress, but projects as a secondary ballhandler and potent slasher at the college level…On the flip side, Henderson only made 50 percent of [his] free throws [at Peach Jam] (and 29.4 percent of his 3-pointers); improving his shooting touch should be among his bigger priorities before arriving on campus in Durham next summer.”
Fair enough. Every young player has work to do.
What we love about Henderson is his strength. Zion Williamson sets the curve for that at Duke and make no mistake: he will continue do so. Henderson is not in that class. Then again, who is?
But he’s 6-6 and powerful for a high school senior. When he gets into the lab at Duke – weight training really should be classified under a broader category, given the tech that goes into basketball conditioning now – he’s going to be a huge pain in the butt when he’s guarding you.
Offensively, as Marks says, he has work to do. That’s just repetition and desire. He’ll be fine.
If you want to think of an NBA comparison, why not Marcus Smart?
