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When head coach Derrick Taylor put Rodney Henderson Jr. on St. John Bosco High School’s JV basketball team in 2012, Henderson was disappointed. He knew the varsity team was destined for the California state championship, and he wanted to play alongside future NBA talent such as Tyler Dorsey and Isaac and Daniel Hamilton because he knew it would improve his game.

“He said, ‘No. I’m going to play varsity,’” Taylor said. “He said, ‘Coach, I’ll show you. I’ll make you put me on varsity.’”

Henderson, then a sophomore, practiced extra hours at the gym and earned a promotion to the varsity team. Although he didn’t play much until his senior year because many teammates were future Division I stars, he was “one of the guys.”

“He wanted what they had, so it drove him to improve,” Taylor said. “He didn’t want to be an afterthought, and he was determined not to be in that role.”

After a year at prep school, Henderson attended two other California colleges before he got his shot at D-I basketball, his dream since he arrived at St. John Bosco. He was the state’s leading scorer for junior colleges at Santiago Canyon College before transferring to D-I Cal-State Northridge. A season-ending injury last year led him to Rider, where he’s now a grad transfer.

For the Broncs, Henderson will look to bring stability to a struggling team that’s predicted to finish last in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, according to a preseason poll.

“When he has his mind set on something, he is going to make it happen,” said Todd Dixon, Henderson’s Santiago Canyon head coach.

Henderson wasn’t a great shooter at the beginning of his time at St. John Bosco, Taylor said. His defensive skills were reliable, but years of reps during practice made him into a top shooting threat for the Braves by his final season. His teammates pushed him, Henderson said.

“They went from being able to handle him pretty well to having problems guarding him. They started to struggle with him,” Taylor said.

In his final high school game, he scored 39 points on 9-11 shooting from beyond the arc and added 11 rebounds — all while guarding the other team’s biggest offensive threat. After that game, Henderson received “a lot of looks” from D-I schools, but he didn’t feel like those were the right fit.

Instead, he went to Avon Old Farms, a Connecticut prep school where he led his team to its first league championship in over 15 years. He was a “late bloomer,” he said, so prep school made sense. It opened doors for his future, and he became a preferred walk-on at Loyola Marymount University.

But on the first day of class, the coaching staff at LMU told Henderson they no longer had a spot for him. They connected him with Fullerton College, a junior college close to his home in Carson, California. The process was frustrating, Henderson said, because he didn’t arrive until three weeks into the semester. The team had already been practicing all summer.

“He was the last guy to the mix his freshman year, which I think was a hindrance,” Fullerton head coach Perry Webster said.

Henderson enrolled in Santiago Canyon the following year, his best shot at competing for a D-I scholarship, he said. The program was in its inaugural year, but Dixon, the head coach, knew Henderson would be the perfect fit. Unlike during high school, Henderson no longer felt overlooked — instead, he had the chance to showcase his talents on a bigger stage.

The Hawks started their season 8-0 and were ranked No. 1 in the state, making it to the sectional semifinals that year. Henderson’s leadership and knack for shooting finally led him to the Division I offer he’d been waiting for: California State University, Northridge.

“When I got the call from Cal-State Northridge, I cried. It was something I long waited for, and at a school where my family went to school. I didn’t need an official visit,” Henderson said.

Henderson made an immediate impact for the Matadors, averaging 10.6 points per game off the bench. He was a player all of his teammates could rely on when they needed to make a big shot, former coaches said. But he missed most of his second season with an injury.

Now a grad student, Henderson chose Rider because he remembered a 2018 Northridge-Rider game that he played in. He loved the team’s playing style and said the university was the perfect program for his master’s degree in business administration.

Four college teams later, Henderson is bringing his experience to a young Rider team as one of 12 new players.

“I want people to be able to look at my story and say, ‘Because (Rodney) was able to do it or achieve it, I should be able to do it as well,’” Henderson said.

Published on December 4, 2020 at 10:40 pm

Contact Sophie: srlevine@syr.edu