Saturday, April 25, 2009

Duke star going pro

Duke junior Gerald Henderson (at right, AP Photo) made it official this morning by announcing he will enter the June 25 NBA Draft.

The announcement was released by the school, which quoted Henderson as saying, “Playing in the NBA has been a goal of mine since a young age and I am thrilled to have the opportunity. My three years at Duke have been a tremendous learning experience and have helped me develop both as a person and as a player.”

Henderson has not hired an agent, but is expected to be among the top 10 or so players selected. A first team All-ACC and ACC All-Tournament team selection last season, he led the Blue Devils to 30-7 record and the program's 11th league championship, averaging 16.5 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game.

"Gerald is an impressive young man on and off the court," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We had great conversations about his NBA prospects and we are 100 percent behind his decision. Gerald is coming off a great season and he has an extremely bright future as a professional. We are ready to help him in any and every way during this process."

Without Henderson, the Devils are expected to retain four starters and nine lettermen from ‘08-’09.

--Caulton Tudor

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

The NBA is the real victim here.

Anonymous said...

+1

Anonymous said...

Yawn. At least they got the picture right. Damn Karma is a bi**h to all those punk Duke fans that talked smack all year about the Heels. First teabags, now your best player. Looks like 2010 is going to be a long year for you punks. Better hope Lawson and Ellington dont come back or you'll be looking at Carolina win ANOTHER National Championship while you bottomfeed in the ACC. Couldn't happen to a better bunch of yankees

Anonymous said...

ellington and lawson cannot come back. if you test the NBA draft waters once, but return to college, the next time you declare you have to stay in, you cant come back. they declared last year but decided to come back. so before you start talking sh*t, understand what youre talking about.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see him go. Should but them right where they belong, looking up at the Heels! BTW, Lawson and Ellington can't come back.

Anonymous said...

Ladies, that's pretty weak player hating, but what else would you expect from unc fans? If the tarholes can bounce back from an 8-20 season, I feel certain Coach K can take the remnants of a 30-win, ACC champion team and make them contenders - without Henderson.

Anonymous said...

welcome to irrelevancy, g

Anonymous said...

that one kid is retarded. Lawson and Ellington can't even come back if they wanted to. since they entered the draft last year, they have to stay in it this year. it's an NCAA rule.

Anonymous said...

This is for the comment at 7:48. Those are some weak digs you managed to slip in there. Since that 8-20 season, the Heels have been to 3 FFs and have won 2 nat'l titles. Dook can continue to play for ACC titles. That's about all they're good for right now.

Anonymous said...

I think Henderson was tremendously over-rated. Compare him with Ellington and the stats are essentially the same. Except Ellington shoots a significantly higher percentage. Amazing, the guy usually disappears for a half each game and they want to make him look like Kobe or LeBron. He is weak! Unfortunately he is Duke's best.

MichaelProcton said...

Yeah, their stats are TOTALLY the same. Except Ellington scores less, gets to the line less, and plays significantly worse defense (statistically and in reality) despite playing more minutes on a team with fewer perimeter scoring options and better post play to take attention away from the defense. Good call, chief.

Anonymous said...

Why hasn't anyone mentioned that Henderson HAS NOT HIRED AN AGENT?? Shouldn't we wait and see if he stays in the draft, a la Lawson/Ellington/Green last year?