By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Four-star small forward Shelton Henderson has set an official visit to Texas from Sept. 27-29, he told ZAGSBLOG. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward from Bellaire (TX) and the JL3 Elite Nike EYBL AAU program originally planned to visit Duke that weekend, but that official has been pushed back to Oct. 4.
Recently, Henderson has fielded an offer from Duke after being coached by Jon Scheyer during Team USA 18u training camp. Henderson made the final 18u roster and posted averages of 8.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists to help Team USA win a gold medal at the 2024 FIBA Men’s U18 AmeriCup.
“I think it was a great experience, just building bonds with other players,” Henderson told ZAGSBLOG. “Playing with great players made me better overall. Just having that experience really helped me I think. I may have not been the best player on the team, but I think I played really hard, had a lot of energy and just enjoyed it and had fun with it.”
Henderson added the opportunity to be coached by Scheyer during training camp and seeing his coaching style “really helps” Duke’s pursuit. As for where Duke stands?
“It’s been going really good lately,” Henderson said. “I really like the people that they send to the league and how they can build me, see me as a player and what I can bring to that team. So just building that relationship on and on until it’s time to come down to a decision is really good.”
In addition to Duke, Henderson named Houston, LSU, Kansas and Alabama as the other schools currently recruiting him hardest. Here is his breakdown of each program, plus what he’s looking forward to in the Louisville visit:
Houston: “Just coach Sampson, both of them, I’ve been hearing form them a lot lately. They are right down the street from me. It’s like the hometown. So they come to my school a lot. They talk to me like three times a week. That relationship has already been like set, so I think having that as an option is really great for me. I think they can fit me. Like hard-nosed, rebounding, just doing all the dirty stuff. So I think in that system I can thrive.”
LSU: “I like the atmosphere and the coaching. Coach [Ryan] McMahon just lets them play free. Having that playstyle, I can see myself in. Just the atmosphere and the fan base, everything they have going on in Baton Rouge I really like it.”
Kansas: “I heard from them. After TABC they offered me. They’ve been watching me for a while and they think I can really help what they’re trying to build up there and keep helping them win games. I really like the program. Kansas is a blue blood. They’ve won a lot of games, sent a lot of people to the league. I can see me fulfilling my dreams there.”
Alabama: “What they’ve been building over the recent years, I’ve really enjoyed watching them. And just them having the confidence in me and seeing me helping their team, it just shows a lot. The relationship we’re building, I really enjoy it.”
Louisville visit coming Aug. 23: “I want to just see what they’re building with the new coaching staff, pretty much new everything down there. Just seeing what they have to offer and how I can help them.”
Henderson recently broke down some other options like Texas here. In addition to the Louisville, Texas, and Duke visits, Henderson is setting one up with LSU and is looking at other schools as well.
This summer, Henderson has been all over the place, from AAU with JL3 Elite, to TABC with Bellaire, to Team USA. He’s also recently been in the gym with NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon.
“He taught me a lot,” Henderson said. “Spin move. How to protect the ball when you’re spinning. And just like how to pivot differently and get the defender off balance. I was actually amazed how good he was moving. He taught me different footwork and stuff and I’ve been using it a lot lately. So I think it really helped me.”
Henderson is ranked the No. 18 prospect in the 2025 class by 247Sports and the No. 1 player in the state of Texas. A fun fact about Henderson is he can do front flips and back flips, as he used to tumble.
“I still got a little bit in me,” Henderson said.
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