In the Spotlight: Gerald Henderson

Gerald Henderson
Position: Shooting Guard
Ht: 6-4, Wt: 215
Hometown: Merion, Pa
College: Duke
Class: Junior

DOB: 12/9/87

Strengths

• Superb athlete with exceptional leaping ability.
• Moves well off the ball – slashes hard to the basket and he’s able to pick up buckets cutting to the hoop.
• Very aggressive... he gets after it on both ends of the floor.
• Shows toughness and a competitive spirit.
• Plays well in an up-tempo environment – gets out in transition, fills the lane and can finish on the break.
• Good rebounder for a guard– primarily because of his athleticism, but he’s willing to mix it up and use his strength to bang with the bigs.
• Great defensive instincts – he reacts quickly, anticipates passes, and generates turnovers by getting his hands in the passing lanes.
• Terrific on the ball defender… With quickness, lateral mobility, and strength.
• Good help defender who has a knack for blocking shots, created from coming over from the weakside.
• Hustles back on D in transition and often times will be seen using his speed to track someone down.
  

Weaknesses

• Really has to work on improving his ball handling… especially his left.
  Doesn’t excel at creating his own offense… his 1-on-1 moves can use improving
• Shooting - Has shown great improvement as a spot up shooter – but still has a long way to go.
• Not as comfortable when shooting off the dribble…it’s going to require a lot of hardwork to get were he needs to be.
• At 6’4 his size for an NBA 2 guard is a concern…but it’s somewhat neutralized by his strength and athleticism.

Overall

There are some things that can’t be taught and freakish athleticism is one of those things. Henderson has that athletic ability and he’s naturally gifted in many areas… He’s strong, fast in the open court, explosive around the rim and he can absolutely jump out of the gym.

With that said, Henderson has to really work on his offensive game because he isn’t a natural scorer. Henderson’s jumper is much improved this season, but it’s still not where it needs to be, especially off the dribble. He needs to continue improving his consistency from the outside, including a quicker release in a more fluid motion.

The other aspect of his game that Henderson needs to get better is his ball handling, primarily his left. If he’s able to develop his handle and begin to create his own offense, he’ll be a much tougher player to defend and it will allow him to use his athleticism more effectively.

Defensively, Henderson has a very complete skill set. His on the ball defense is very strong (excellent lateral quickness), he’s able to get in the passing lanes with great anticipation / instincts, and he is a terrific weak side defender who gets up to contest / block shots. He also hustles back in transition to prevent fast break opportunities.

Overall, Henderson is a good kid that shows tremendous effort and plays hard on both ends of the floor. He’s only a Junior, but if he decides to enter the upcoming draft, he deserves consideration towards the end of the lottery, middle of the first round.