WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Duke's Henderson very familiar with Villanova

By Jake Lloyd

Mar 23, 2009

DURHAM, N.C. — For Gerald Henderson, Duke’s draw in the Sweet 16 is all about familiarity.

The team. The players. And the location.

Duke’s junior forward grew up in Merion, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia and about 15 to 20 minutes from Villanova, which happens to be Duke’s next opponent.

Henderson grew up rooting for the Wildcats and attending their games with his father, Gerald Henderson Sr.

Then he strongly considered becoming a Wildcat, with his college choice coming down to Duke and Villanova. He took an official visit there, staying with former Wildcat and current NBA player Kyle Lowry, and got to know all of the program’s personnel.

“They recruited me, so I’m pretty familiar with all their coaches and mostly all their players,” Henderson said.

Of course, he chose the only other school where he took an official visit. But that doesn’t mean Henderson lacks family connections to his hometown school: His sister and cousin went there.

His dad, of course, has connections all over the country that are the result of playing for seven NBA teams during a 13-year career.

But the younger Henderson said that his father’s fondest memories are from spending his first five seasons with the Boston Celtics, where he won two NBA titles.

The second-seeded Blue Devils’ Sweet 16 location? None other than Boston, where they’ll head Tuesday after practice.

“He’s got a lot of friends back there, lot of people that are close to me,” Henderson said. “He always talks about, those were his best years as a pro, not just on the basketball court but in terms of just living and him having a good time as a basketball player.”

The older Henderson is most remembered for his steal and layup of the Los Angeles Lakers’ James Worthy in Game 2 of the 1984 Finals. The play in the final seconds tied the game, and the Celtics went on to win in overtime and take the series in seven games.

“He doesn’t talk about it as much (now),” Henderson said. “I get, every now and then, like once a month, somebody will come up to me and say they saw on ESPN Classic … his steal.

“It’s probably one of the best moments of his career.”

Beginning late Thursday night, Henderson will have the opportunity to create some of the best moments of his young career. He has never gotten this far in the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round as a freshman and the second round last season.

It’s safe to say he won’t let his connections to Duke’s opponent and the city in which the Blue Devils (30-6) are playing affect his play come game time.

“I don’t think there could be much of a distraction,” Henderson said.