Ronnie Henderson: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:Washington Bullets draft picks]] |
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Revision as of 05:40, 4 July 2010
Ronnie Henderson (born Mar 29, 1974, in Gulfport, Mississippi), a 6'4" (1.93m) shooting guard, was an American basketball player.
A cousin of fellow Gulfport native and two time "Mr. Basketball" for the state of Mississippi Chris Jackson a.k.a. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Henderson moved to Jackson, MS, where he was rumored to have scored 85 points in a thirty-two minute Junior High game and to have a 45" (1.14 m) vertical leap. He became a high school phenom and helped establish Murrah High School as a national powerhouse in basketball.
The school had already produced Steve Galloway (Mississippi's Mr. Basketball, 1986), McDonalds All-American James Robinson (Mr. Basketball, 1989) and NBA veteran Lindsey Hunter. But the lineup Henderson starred in was the most formidable yet. Along with fellow future Southeastern Conference (SEC) standouts Joezon Darby (Ole Miss} and Jesse Pate (University of Arkansas), Henderson teamed with the number one recruit in the nation, Othella Harrington (Mr. Basketball, 1991 and '92). Henderson was the leading scorer for the now legendary high scoring team that would routinely draw thousands of onlookers.
Despite dislocating his shoulder, Henderson was the nation's top rated shooting guard in 1993. Then, despite former San Antonio Spurs head coach Jerry Tarkanian making the then unheard of declaration of drafting a high school player (Henderson would be his first pick if he'd enter the draft), he joined the nation's top point guard, Randy Livingston, at LSU. However, college basketball's most highly touted backcourt duo never lived up to expectations due to injuries to Livingston.
Ronnie Henderson did go on to lead the SEC in scoring two straight years (23.3 points per game as a sophomore, 21.8 ppg as a junior) despite suffering knee injuries of his own. He was a 1st team All SEC selection in 1995 and 1996.
Henderson chose to leave school after his junior year where he slipped far below most people's expectations to the 55th overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft. Selected by the Washington Bullets, he never played a game.