Scoota Henderson making his case for No. 1 point guard ranking. Kentucky is involved.
The high school basketball season is just beginning in some parts of the country and hasn’t even started in others. It didn’t take long for Scoota Henderson to cement his status as a major player to watch this winter.
Henderson — a 6-foot-3, 185-pound point guard from Marietta, Ga. — was faced with two high-profile games at the Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta this past weekend. He didn’t disappoint.
“He had one of the best weekends I’ve seen out of a prospect in a really long time,” 247Sports recruiting analyst Travis Branham told the Herald-Leader after scouting Henderson in both games.
On the first night, the class of 2022 recruit faced Alabama signee JD Davison, who is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 point guard in the 2021 class. Henderson scored 30 points on 13-for-21 shooting in less than three quarters of play, and his Kell High team won, 106-44. Davison didn’t have much help around him, and Henderson didn’t make things any easier, forcing Davison to work for everything he got offensively, leading to an inefficient shooting night.
“He picked him up full court and competed every single possession,” Branham said.
In the second game, Henderson played against Mikey Williams — ranked by 247Sports as the No. 2 player in the 2023 class — and once again led Kell to a victory, going for 36 points (on 15-for-25 shooting) and seven assists to lead his team back from a 15-point halftime deficit.
“He is very competitive, especially when the lights come on,” Branham said. “Those were two major statement games. A lot of times you see elite prospects back down from those challenges. And Scoot was the opposite. He just answered the challenge, which is something you want to see out of those top prospects. You don’t want to see them ducking the competition. You don’t want to see them sitting out or wanting to play the easy games — you want to see them in those (tough) environments and see them compete the way Scoot did.”
247Sports ranks Henderson as the No. 14 overall prospect in the 2022 class, though performances like the two this past weekend might have him trending upward even more in the future. Branham and fellow 247Sports analyst Dushawn London named him as their top overall performer for the star-studded showcase. London called him one of the most exciting prospects in the class. Branham said he might just be the best point guard in 2022 or 2021.
“Standing 6-foot-3 with that length and that body and that athleticism, he absolutely looked like the No. 1 point guard in both ’22 and ’21,” he said.
Henderson’s most obvious talent is his ability to get to the basket. He has an impressive frame and uses it well with his quickness and athleticism. When he wants to drive to the hoop, few defenders in the country can keep him in front.
Though he’d certainly be classified as a score-first point guard, Henderson is a capable facilitator, and that was on display at the Hoopsgiving event.
“When he attacks the rim, he draws two or three guys,” Branham said. “And he has the vision and passing ability to find open teammates. He doesn’t always do it — and that’s been one of those areas that he’s needed to improve on — but he did it this weekend.”
Henderson can be a streaky shooter — and relying too much on tough, contested jump shots at times is probably the best knock on his game, especially considering his ability to get to the basket — but he can make those shots and is improving as an offensive decision-maker.
He projects as a possible lockdown defender and still has two years of high school to further develop those skills. “Scoot has all the ability to be an elite on-ball defender,” Branham said, adding that he is also effective off the ball, using his length and quickness to disrupt passing lanes and his basketball IQ to anticipate what opponents will do with the ball.
Top college coaches took notice long ago.
Most of the schools in the Southeastern Conference have already extended scholarship offers, with Alabama, Auburn and home-state Georgia making him a top priority early on.
Kentucky assistant Joel Justus visited Henderson last year, and the five-star recruit told 247Sports over the weekend that he is in regular contact with the Wildcats’ coaching staff. “That history is just crazy to me,” he said of UK’s program.
He’s likely to be hearing a lot more about Kentucky basketball as time goes on.
“Scoot’s definitely somebody that’s on their radar,” Branham said. “And I think after this weekend you’re going to see a little more interest pick up, especially with the blue bloods. There is definitely an interest there already, but I would expect it to grow.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 4:50 PM.
