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We continue our season preview coverage with Kansas State assistant coach Jermaine Henderson. His 1st 2 years in Manhattan could hardly have gone any better: 25 wins in 2018 including a trip to the Elite 8, followed by yet another 25-win season last year and a share of the Big 12 regular season title. This year he has made the leap from director of student-athlete development to assistant coach as the Wildcats try to reach the NCAA tourney for the 10th time in the past 13 seasons. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Henderson about being in the Sunflower Showdown and replacing his top-3 scorers from last season.
You played for Herb Sendek/Charlie Coles at Miami Ohio, where you became 1 of a handful of players in school history to participate in 4 postseason tournaments (2 NCAA tourneys and 2 NITs): what is the biggest difference between the regular season and the postseason? Other than the excitement around the country, the main component is that it is win-or-go-home. Many football teams play a bowl game in December/January but all 68 teams in the NCAA tourney have a chance to not only play but win a national title. We played UMBC in the 2018 NCAA tourney so we know very well what a #16 seed can do! You work your tail off the whole year but it can all be gone in 40 minutes: there is something exciting about survive-and-advance. There is anticipation for the season to start and to play games on national TV…but it cannot compare to the NCAA tourney.
In the 1995 NCAA tourney you had 1 REB in a 9-PT win over Arizona: how much of a home-court advantage did you have while playing in Dayton, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? We had a HUGE home-court advantage! Herb did not recruit me: Joby Wright did so I actually had 3 college coaches. I tease people that if you can find me in “1 Shining Moment” I will get you tickets to a game this year! I recall us being the 1st game to tip-off in the afternoon so that gave it some additional buzz. Arizona was going through some off-court problems as a program: I played the role of Damon Stoudamire during practice and got to shoot whenever I wanted! Arizona flew out to Ohio and had to play an early game, which was not easy for them. I am from Columbus so when you are a few hours away from schools like Indiana/Kentucky/Louisville/Xavier you can see a lot of tremendous energy in that region. It was a scuffle but we took full advantage.
How did you get into coaching? Everyone has dreams beyond playing. Joby went to Wyoming and Herb was tough but he and I later became great friends. My junior year I finally got to play a little bit and I became a captain as a senior. In January of my senior year I was planning to return to Columbus but Charlie told me that he had a different plan for me. After our team banquet he told me and my family that I would become a coach so he brought me in as the coach’s pet. He saw everything that I went through so he made me student-teach in Oxford and then head straight to his office every day. I became a full-time assistant at age 22 and knew that I wanted to coach…and 23 years later I am still doing it!
You work for Coach Bruce Weber: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He genuinely cares what happens to his players both in the game as well as during the rest of the day. Every meeting I have sat in with him has ended with a life lesson. I call him a “beautiful mind” because he is great at articulating everything that is in his brain. Some coaches do not care how you play but he presents the way that he wants us to play. He never gets in your way as you grow/teach, which is unique. Some coaches need to be at the front of the line but he is not like that. EVERYONE on our staff is doing some coaching: I have been around some basketball dudes but he stands out because he gives us a platform to do our job and the freedom to have our own personality.
Last year won the Big 12 regular season title to end Kansas’ 14-year run: how do you describe the in-state rivalry to someone who has never seen it in person, and how big a deal was it to break the Jayhawks’ streak? I would explain it as something similar to Red Sox-Yankees or Ohio State-Michigan. It is interesting because you share the same state and they are the closest in terms of proximity. The rivalry is fueled by a combination of hatred/respect because both programs have had a tremendous amount of success. Kansas has gotten big-time recruits and done things so you have to tip your hat to what they have accomplished. When you share the same soil it gets personal: I think that Red Sox fans hated the Yankees back in the day because Derek Jeter was so good! It is electric but at the end of the day it is about success.
In the 2019 NCAA tourney you had a 6-PT loss to UC Irvine: what did your team learn from that game that will help them this year? You hope they learn that it is about playing all 40 minutes. We had a bit of a chip on our shoulder in 2018 and I can see that again with some of our senior leaders this year. That chip cannot fade even when you are conference champ: Irvine was a conference champ as well! They were really good/well-coached so we have to keep that chip on our shoulder. No matter what seed you are or how you get there it is about surviving/advancing.
This year you are making the leap from director of student-athlete development to assistant coach: what has been the biggest change so far? The biggest thing is getting onto the court. The rules did not allow me to be on the practice floor or at workouts last year but I love that I can do so this year and have some input. The other key component is recruitment so I get to leave campus and try to bring in some special guys. It is an easy transition because Coach Weber always lets his staff chime in, be it in the locker room or on a plane. It is a 1st-class staff and everyone has been helpful.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Pitt/Marquette/Mississippi State/Alabama: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? They will all be good tests. Mississippi State might be a top-25 team, Coach Jeff Capel is doing good things at Pitt, and Marquette taught us a lesson last December (an 83-71 win by the Golden Eagles). There are some other games such as North Dakota State/Tulsa who will present a formidable challenge for us as well. We also might have to play Bradley, who made the NCAA tourney as well. We want to challenge our guys to rise up and be held accountable. I think this is the toughest non-conference schedule we have had during my entire time here and the earliest that we have ever gone on the road.
You lost each of your top-3 senior scorers from last season (Barry Brown/Dean Wade/Kamau Stokes): how are you going to try to replace all of that offense/leadership? The 1st thing you want to replace is the heart of the program. Barry/Dean will be talked about for a long time because they had a lot of challenges as freshmen but kept plugging away. We talk about having championship DNA and all 3 of those seniors had that. We need to respect everyone on our schedule and then make our own mark. Someone else asked me if I expected to have a drop-off this year and I responded that I think we will still win games but in different ways. All of our current guys had great summers and have improved: they just have to step into their new roles.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? You want to compete but also grow and get better each and every day. 4 weeks from now we will be prepping for a real game that counts. It is important for us to get off to a good start with a road victory, and beyond that we know what is waiting for us after Christmas within the Big 12. We do not want to have a crystal ball and know how things will turn out in advance: we want to take it 1 day at a time. We want to compete for a conference title and hopefully make it to the NCAA tourney. If we stay healthy and play to our potential then I think we will have a great season.