Henderson KOs Terps
Feb 26, 2009
Duke got knocked down…literally. With 15:46 left in the second half Maryland center Dave Neal, who looks more like a journeyman heavyweight boxer than a basketball player, delivered a vicious blind screen on Nolan Smith that sent Smith immediately into la-la land. The play continued, and with Smith on the ground wondering what city he was in, Neal knocked down a wide open 3 pointer to cut the Duke lead to 1, and send the crowd at the Comcast Center into hysteria.
How would Duke respond? It was one of those moments that defines a team, defines its identity. Would they allow the Terps to push them around the way they did North Carolina 4 days earlier?
The answer came swiftly, one possession later, and it was delivered by the Blue Devils’ true leader Gerald Henderson. Henderson drove right down the middle of the lane and delivered a punishing slam over 3 Terrapin defenders.
It was more than 2 points, more than just a dunk, it was a message. Henderson, who has been averaging 20 points per game in the month of February, was letting Maryland know that they weren’t going to knock one of his guys to the ground and get away with it.
Henderson’s toughness carried the Devils throughout the second half. With the game tied at 45, Henderson stopped a 2 on 1 fast break with a block. On the ensuing possession he buried an 18 foot fall away jumper for the lead. Then with the game tied at 60 he hit a 25 foot 3, and Duke would never trail again.
When Maryland tried to mount one last run, it was Henderson stepping in to take a charge on Greivis Vasquez, drawing the fifth foul on the Terps’ main man. Superstars usually don’t take charges, they usually don’t play all out defense on every possession, but Henderson does.
Henderson in 2 months time has become the heart and soul of this Duke team. He is a rare combo of speed, athleticism, and smarts. But most important to this team is his edge, his toughness. It’s hard to imagine where this group would be without him.
When Coach K proclaimed Greg Paulus had emerged the team leader after the Miami win on February 7th, I thought to myself, yeah right.
Sure enough, two games later Paulus was benched in favor of freshman Elliot Williams. Last time I checked, leaders of teams who are seniors don’t get benched for freshman.
I interviewed Gerald about 3 weeks ago and asked him about his explosion this season. He said he was angered by comments saying he had underachieved at Duke, and had not fulfilled expectations. He said Coach K told him to play angry, and think about the criticism before every game to get him ready.
Who knows, maybe Krzyzewski was trying to anger Henderson even more with the Paulus comments.
At 23 and 5 this is not a dominant Duke team, but Gerald Henderson has become a dominant player. And when Duke got knocked down, it was Henderson that picked the Devils up and knocked out the Terps.
