Getting Up with Xavier Henry
While everyone talks about Lance Stephenson and Renardo Sidney, the most NBA-ready high schooler in the Class of ‘09 might be Xavier Henry. At a solid 6-6, 210 pounds and growing, the Putnam City (Oklahoma) junior two-guard has a pro body already and the game to match. His lefty shooting stroke is money anywhere within NBA-range three-point territory, and for defenses who crowd Xavier Henry fearing the long ball, he can also get to the basket and finish strong. Plus, Xavier Henry has the athletic pedigree; his older brother, C.J. Henry, was a highly-touted hoops recruit who was picked by the Yankees in the first round of the 2005 MLB draft. (Currently in the minor leagues, word is C.J. might actually return to college basketball in ‘08.) As far as Xavier Henry, he has all the heavyweights like North Carolina, Texas, Memphis, Ohio State and Kansas on his list of colleges. We got up with Xavier Henry while he was in New York last month for the Elite 24 Classic.
Dime: Which NBA or college player do you feel your game is similar to?
Xavier Henry: I’ll take probably LeBron’s quick first step and the shooting ability of Kobe.
Dime: What part of your game are you working on heading into your junior year?
Xavier Henry: I’m still working on my rebounding and my defense.
Dime: What are your offseason workouts like?
Xavier Henry: Lifting. A lot of lifting, every other day. Running, things like that. Since I started school I can’t really workout early in the morning anymore.
Dime: Who do you think are the Top 3 high school players in the country?
Xavier Henry: Probably me, Delvon Roe and Tyreke Evans.
Dime: What other players do you like playing with when you’re not playing with your high school squad?
Xavier Henry: Kendall Marshall. He’s one of the top [Class of] 2010 point guards, like number eight in his class or something like that. And I like playing with Luke Babbitt.
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