After excelling as grad transfer at Arizona, Cedric Henderson hits NBA Summer League on upswing

After a long, steady climb up the college basketball ladder, Cedric Henderson has finally reached the ideal launching pad for a professional career.

His agreement to play for Cleveland in the NBA Summer League starting next week means that, even if the Cavaliers don’t wind up offering him a fall training camp invitation, he’ll be auditioning in front of scouts from the NBA and all over the world.

A contract of some sort is likely to happen next.

“Summer League for the NBA is really more like a trial for everything,” Henderson said this week, before departing from his home in Memphis to a mini-camp in Cleveland. “Everybody goes, they all watch players and see what they can do. That's why it's so big, especially for guys that are in my position, where they don't know where they're going yet.”

Ever since he realized had a gift for basketball late in high school, Henderson hasn’t always known where the game would take him.

Unlike many of today’s top domestic players, who start playing club ball in elementary school, Henderson said he veered toward soccer and track as a youth, and it wasn’t until midway through his high school years that he started realizing the significance of how well he played on the basketball court against friends in the talent-rich Memphis area.

“That's when I really realized I was really good at it,” Henderson said. “I had a friend group that I enjoyed playing basketball with. That's what really changed it, being able to play with people that actually enjoyed the game themselves.”

But still not on the major college radar out of high school, Henderson began finding out how far he could go with basketball anyway. He started his college career at Southwest Tennessee Community College, being named the freshman of the year in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association.

Then Henderson spent three years at low-major Campbell, and after a junior season in which he dropped a double-double on Duke, realized he was ready for more. So he spent last year at Arizona, helping offset the Wildcats' losses of Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko to the 2022 NBA Draft.

Able to play his fifth season of college ball thanks to the extra year the NCAA granted players who participated in the 2020-21 “COVID season,” Henderson took advantage by starting 20 of 35 games for a UA team that spent most of last season in the Associated Press Top 10, learning to play off the bench and be more of a secondary option than he was at Campbell.

“It taught me to learn to accept a role,” Henderson said. “I really settled down and learned the game more. And it definitely developed my jump shot and my ball-handling skills so much more. I really wish I had another year. I think if I had another year, I would have skyrocketed.”

UA coach Tommy Lloyd has said he would have liked to have had Henderson around another season too, but said last week that he was confident Henderson and fellow departing grad transfer Courtney Ramey would have good professional careers ahead. Ramey announced Thursday he would play for a team in Germany's top pro league.

“Whatever level that ends up being remains to be seen,” Lloyd said of Henderson and Ramey. “But I just look at their ability to stick, whether it's high level in Europe or the Asian (leagues), the NBA or even the G League.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Anything might be possible for Henderson. Because even though he's already 23 years old, his late-blooming progression through college indicates there still might be upside left — and his 6-6 size, versatility and improving 3-point shooting are all marketable as a professional player on the wing.

Plus, Henderson has more belief in himself. Henderson’s confidence appeared to rise when Lloyd moved him into the starting lineup midway through last season, while Pelle Larsson returned to a bench role he had already excelled in. Henderson scored in double figures during four of his final eight games, including a 23-point effort against ASU on Feb. 25 at McKale Center.

“That was the biggest thing at Arizona, getting my confidence together as the season went along,” Henderson said. “I definitely got better and better as I played. Another thing that we talked about in a lot of my meetings with these (NBA) teams was that I have a high ceiling. I don't think I'm anywhere near where I can be.”

While mostly working out in Tucson until earlier this month, Henderson said he focused on ball-handling and long-range shooting, knowing his professional position is most likely on the wing even as he played both inside and outside at Arizona.

Henderson said he already believed in his cutting ability after playing in two systems that heavily emphasized it in drastically different systems: Campbell plays at one of the nation’s slowest tempos while Lloyd runs one of the fastest.

Henderson then went on the road to showcase himself his spring, working out for Charlotte, Memphis, Sacramento and Cleveland, where a familiar face joined him with the Cavs.

“I worked out with 'Zu,' which was really fun,” Henderson said of former UA teammate Azuolas Tubelis, who signed a two-way deal with Philadelphia immediately after the June 22 NBA Draft. “The most interested teams were Sacramento and Cleveland. They were very big on my character, and they were really good people. I felt really comfortable, and their workouts were really good for me too. I think that had a little bit to do with me playing well.”

While some NBA teams will play in mini-Summer Leagues in Sacramento or Salt Lake City early next week, the Cavaliers are scheduled to hold a week of workouts for Henderson and other summer invitees in Cleveland before heading straight to the main Las Vegas league from July 7-17.

There, Henderson will hit the stage and, probably soon afterward, find out where he’ll play his rookie season and try to keep growing.

“I think I still have a lot to learn, a lot to do,” Henderson said. “That's really what I'm most excited about throughout this process, that I'm definitely gonna develop more. I can't wait. This is what every player dreams of, to have the opportunity to do this.”