Skip Henderson
Personal information | |
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Born | September 27, 1965 |
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Cartersville(Cartersville, Georgia) |
College | Marshall(1984–1988) |
NBA draft | 1988:undrafted |
Position | Point guard |
Career highlights and awards | |
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James Woodrow "Skip" Henderson Jr.(born September 27, 1965) is an American former basketball player known for his collegiate career atMarshall Universitybetween 1984–85 and 1987–88. Henderson, a 6'2 "point guard,established himself as one of the premier players to ever play in theSouthern Conference(SoCon), amassing a conference-record 2,574 points (eventually broken byDavidson'sStephen Curry21 years later); this total is second on Marshall's all-time record behindJon Elmore's 2,636 points. Henderson was a four-time first-team All-SoCon selection, and as aseniorin 1987–88 he was named theSoCon Player of the Year.
Early life
[edit]Henderson grew up inCartersville, Georgiaat a time when that town had "very little crime and very little drugs," according to Bobby Carr, his basketball coach atCartersville High School.[1]He described Henderson as an "All-American kid" who was voted as Mr. Cartersville High School by his peers.[1]In high school, Henderson playedquarterbackfor the football team, point guard for the basketball team and also played baseball in the spring.[1]
Marshall University
[edit]Henderson enrolled atMarshall University,then a member ofNCAA Division I'sSouthern Conference,in the fall of 1984 to play for theThundering Herd men's basketball team.[2]On the court, Henderson was one of the best players in the league for the duration of his four-year career. He led Marshall to three postseason tournaments: the1985and1987NCAA Tournamentsas well as the1988 National Invitation Tournament(NIT).[1]The Thundering Herd were twice SoCon regular season champions (1986–87 and 1987–88) and twiceSoCon tournamentchampions (1984–85 and 1986–87).[2]Henderson led the team in points per game in each of his four seasons, and in his final three seasons he also led them in steals.[2]During hissophomoreseason in 1985–86, he was Marshall's team leader in assists.[2]He rewrote the school record books, among them is the still-standing records for points in a game (55).[2]His career total stood for 21 years as the SoCon mark untilStephen Currybroke it in2008–09.[1]Additionally, his 55-point game was played in the quarterfinals of the 1988 Southern Conference tournament againstThe Citadel.[3]This set both the Marshall and conference tournament records simultaneously.[3]He was named theSoCon Player of the Yearas a senior.[2]
Troubled post-college life
[edit]Off the basketball court, Henderson began to smokemarijuanaand drinkalcohol.[1]Eventually his addictions grew, and by his senior year he was tryingcocaineandcrack.[1]Besides drug use, Henderson made other poor decisions, such as deciding to drop out of Marshall—just two months before he was set to earn his bachelor's degree in Sports Management—in order to play in theUnited States Basketball Leaguefor the New Haven Skyhawks.[1]Henderson was then selected third overall by the Charleston Gunners of theContinental Basketball Association(CBA) in the 1988 CBA Draft, but two days before the season's opening game, the CBA suspended Henderson for testing positive for cocaine use.[1]This suspension was, ironically, right before the "Say No to Drugs" -themed season opener.[1]
Other transgressions outside of basketball led Henderson to numerous run-ins with the law.[1]He pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and four counts of forgery in January 1991, and one count of robbery by intimidation and one count of first-degree forgery in March 1992.
On September 24, 2001, Henderson hijacked a car at gunpoint, kidnapped the driver for a brief amount of time, robbed a convenience store for petty cash ($360 in total), and threatened the store clerk with the gun.[1]This night was fueled by drug use. Henderson said that his wife had just died and it was an emotionally turbulent time for him, which is why he got back into drugs.[1]The crimes he committed that evening landed him in prison, and since he was a repeat offender, Henderson was given life without parole.[1]Though a movement to have him released from prison has since been started.[4]
College accolades
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References
[edit]- ^abcdefghijklmnMesser, Jacob (May 19, 2009)."Ex-basketball star James 'Skip' Henderson in prison without parole still fighting".Charleston Daily Mail.Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2015.Retrieved2 August2015.
- ^abcdefg"2012–13 Men's Basketball Records and Awards History"(PDF).Fact Book.Marshall University. 2012.RetrievedMay 31,2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^abcSapakoff, Gene (March 5, 1988)."Henderson's Double-Edged Record Game"(PDF).The News and Courier.RetrievedMay 31,2013.
- ^"MU Basketball Legend Looks for Hope During Harsh Prison Sentence".
- ^Morehouse, Keith (2013)."The Distinguished Dozen".The Huntington Quarterly.RetrievedMay 31,2013.