Scoot Henderson Gets Educated by Blazers Point Guards

LAS VEGAS – The night before the rest of his life began, while he was getting his hair cut in his hotel room, with the Strip at his feet, Scoot Henderson was hyped.

“Can’t wait!” he shouted into the void.

“Yeah, you got some good information,” the Portland Trail Blazers’ rookie, the franchise’s amnesia and G League Ignite’s latest success story said earlier this month.

The next night, Henderson needed about four minutes to show why the Blazers, essentially, are ready to move on from arguably the franchise’s all-time best player, Damian Lillard.

Four minutes to show why his motto is “ODD” – Overly Determined to Dominate.

Four minutes to create space with his off hand, step back and hit his first shot against the Rockets. Four minutes to suck in Houston’s defense and kick the ball out to fellow rookie Kris Murray for a 3. Four minutes to drive the baseline with a hesitation dribble and finish a reverse layup. Four minutes to cross over Houston’s number one pick, Amen Thompson, and drop in a stepback jumper.

Four minutes to show what the last two years have been about, beginning when Henderson skipped his last year of high school in 2021 to join Ignite. But Henderson hadn’t played in a game since Ignite shut him down in March, after he played just 19 games this season, averaging 16.5 points and 6.8 assists.

Henderson’s first appearance in Summer League was his last. After suffering a shoulder injury in the second half against Houston, he was unofficially shut down for the remainder of Portland’s games here. It didn’t matter. Everyone saw what they needed to see.

“I was just ready to hoop again,” Henderson said. “I was ready to get out there, with the crowd, let everybody know who I am again. It was fun, though. That night, it was special for me. The start of something special in Portland.”

No one begrudges San Antonio for picking Victor Wembanyama first in last month’s draft. But there may be great debate in the years to come about the Charlotte Hornets opting for Alabama’s Brandon Miller at two, enabling the giddy Blazers to take Henderson third.

Miller is a big talent with a bright future, just like Henderson. But the Blazers, of all franchises, are due for some draft providence.

After taking star-crossed big men at the tops of drafts over the decades – LaRue Martin, Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, Greg Oden – Portland went smaller with its high Lotto pick this time, opting for the 6-2 Henderson. In doing so, the Blazers likely set in motion the most wrenching weeks in franchise history.

Lillard, the team’s all-time scoring leader and perhaps its most beloved player, wanted the team to trade the pick for win-now veterans who could help the 33-year-old make a deeper postseason run than he’s managed the last several seasons, as the team’s makeup featured increasingly younger players. Instead, Portland held firm, kept the pick and took Henderson. One week later, Lillard asked for a trade, with Miami his preferred destination. The Blazers say they will accommodate his trade request, but not until they get the haul of players and picks that they want. The staring contest between franchise and franchise player continues.

In the interim, the Blazers have turned their present and their future to the 19-year-old Henderson, surrounding him with a coterie of coaches who, literally, see the game through the same eyes he will.

Henderson is a point guard, being raised by point guards, each bringing their unique experiences to bear as they pour knowledge into Henderson’s noggin.

Jason Hart, Henderson’s Ignite head coach the last two years, is still Syracuse’s all-time leader in steals and second only to Sherman Douglas in assists. Hart wrung out 341 NBA games over nine NBA seasons before going the coaching route, with eight seasons at USC highlighting his resume.

Henderson’s Ignite teammate, Pooh Jeter, played around the world for 17 years, including a stint for the Ukrainian national team, which he helped secure its first FIBA World Cup berth since the breakup of the Soviet Union. It was “surreal” to Henderson, he said, to have a teammate 20 years his senior with whom he could relate. The Blazers continued Jeter’s mentorship of Henderson by officially hiring him this month as the team’s player development coach, as well as the assistant GM of Portland’s new G League team, the Rip City Remix.

Blazers assistant coach Scott Brooks also went undrafted by the NBA, like Hart and Jeter, but clawed and fought his way through 10 NBA seasons at the point. He later became a head coach in Oklahoma City and Washington, where he coached Russell Westbrook – a common comp to Henderson – at the start and towards the end of Westbrook’s storied career.

And Henderson’s coach in Portland is, of course, Chauncey Billups, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP and wearer of the moniker “Mr. Big Shot.”

“First of all, that’s two really good guards – Scoot and Chauncey. The rest of us were very, very average,” Brooks cracked.

Add to that the mentorship that Henderson is receiving from Stephen Curry, who’s partnered with Henderson on and off the court to help him prepare for the pro life, and Henderson’s potential trajectory through his floor general associations is like an Apollo rocket to the moon.

“Every guard has been in the same situation, but everybody has had different outcomes, and everybody had different ways they went about it,” Henderson said. “Honestly, (I’m) just picking their brains about how they went about certain situations in games, in the locker room, trying to lead a team at a young age. That’s how I go about it. And hearing from Chauncey, PoohJ, JHart, Scott, it’s the best lineup I could have at 19 – and at 17, with Pooh and Jason.”

Like Henderson, Billups went third in his NBA draft, in 1997 to Boston. Unlike Henderson, most assuredly, Billups was traded as a rookie, starting a ping-ponging five seasons around the league. Once Billups settled, though, he became a champion, under the tutelage of two more former guards – the late Flip Saunders in Minnesota and Larry Brown in Detroit. Under Brown, Billups led the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference finals appearances and the 2004 NBA championship, in a celebrated upset of the Lakers in five games. But Billups feels a special burden to help Henderson become the best he can be.

“It’s personal for me,” Billups said. “‘Cause I just remember myself being that dude, third pick in the draft. The expectations. I want to give Scoot what I needed at the time. I can do that. I’ve done everything he wants to do in this league. I struggled mightily early, which I don’t see that happening with him. He’ll jump a lot faster than I did. But I knew what I needed. And I’m going to be that for him. … it was really tough for me. Once I really got comfortable in Boston, they traded me to Toronto. And I started playing good in Toronto, and the season was over. Boom, we have a lockout (in 1999). Once the lockout is over, the next day, they trade me to Denver. I didn’t get my bearings. I really didn’t, until two, three years, when I started getting some stability, some normalcy.”

Playing for Saunders for two seasons in Minnesota helped Billups believe in himself again. Going to Detroit as a free agent in 2002, first to play for Rick Carlisle, and then for Brown – who, for all time, will be the ABA’s leader for assists in a game (23) – provided Billups with a master class in how to lead. Brown was especially brutal on point guards everywhere he went, from Allen Iverson to Mark Jackson to Billups. Billups will be hard on Henderson, in his own way. And Henderson will have to take it, because his father and sister have been huge Pistons fans for more than a minute.

Billups, entering his third season in Portland, says he’s a coaching combination of Saunders, Brown and Ricardo Patton, his college coach at Colorado. So all of those voices will be in Henderson’s ear.

“What I won’t let him do (is), I won’t let him skip any steps,” Billups said. “I’m going to be on him, coach him. He’s going to play the game the right way, he’s going to play it for the team. The big picture is, Scoot’s going to be a star in this league. But I’m not going to let him skip those steps. And he’s going to be probably upset with me some days because I won’t let him skip those steps, but he’s always going to be appreciative. The kid is special. He’s going to be a really good player in this league.”

Henderson says he doesn’t want Billups to take it lightly on him.

“Tell me, whether I want to hear it or not,” Henderson says. “I’m always all ears. I’m a great listener. So hearing from Chauncey, whether he’s chomping me out or giving me gems, I’m gonna listen either way. And I’m gonna take from that, and I’m gonna go out on the court, and do it. I can take a whole bunch from him, hopefully the rest of my career here, but definitely these first couple of years, I’m gonna pick his brain as much as I can.”

Henderson chopped it up often with Jeter and Hart. Jeter was the coach on the floor; Henderson’s apartment this past season was steps away from his head coach’s spot. In his role, Hart has to be big brother as much as head coach with his young guys.

“He would pull up to my room, and we would just chill and kick it,” Henderson said. “He was like, my first vet. And he was pouring so much into me, not just on the court, but just life. How to be a good person, never taking nothing for granted. Simple things like that. And our relationship just grew from it. And on the court, staying confident in my shot, just simple things like that. But it’s huge coming from somebody I can really learn from, somebody that’s been in that position, someone that had a knockdown shot and was able to lead a team like that.”

But Hart coached him, too, and hard when needed.

“If you’re a good player, what I find, from being in college and now here, is if you challenge somebody that’s really good, and they’re really about ‘that,’ then they’re going to take that as a challenge. You’re challenging them personally,” Hart said by phone. “And that’s what he did. I would challenge him personally: ‘You’re not playing no defense. You’re not getting your teammates involved.’ And he would take it personally. I want you to take that, you being upset, take it out on me, and show me. Man, I would challenge Scoot all the time. There’s this little wolf that’s trying to dominate, and that’s what he’s looking for: a challenge.”

Ignite’s plan for Henderson was twofold. In his first season, Henderson was the junior partner on a team that featured 2022 draft picks Dyson Daniels (No. 8 to the Pelicans), MarJon Beauchamp (24th to Milwaukee) and Jaden Hardy (taken in the second round, No. 37, by Dallas). Henderson wasn’t on the ball most of the time, Daniels was. Henderson was given the green light to play and not think. Year 2 was different. With Daniels gone, Henderson ran the point last season, He was forced to talk. He was made to lead.

“Year 2, he was the veteran among our other draftees,” Hart said. “That was a role where you need to talk. You’ve got to lead with your mouth. Because when you go to an NBA locker room, that’s what they’re going to expect, being that you’re going to be drafted high. This year, he led. He was our vocal leader.”

As part of his collaboration with Curry, Henderson has spent the last few months working with Curry’s personal trainer, Brandon Payne, and got into the gym last month with Curry for a week. “Then I had to go back and get my suit ready (for the draft),” Henderson said. (It was noteworthy.)

“Just that week before the draft, we were still putting our head down, training,” he said. “And I also was training with one of my trainers in Georgia. Just handles and stuff like that to the basket. Me and (Payne), we’ve been doing a whole bunch. He was telling me little things, not to critique my shot, but just always to think about breathing and stuff. Not like (deep inhaling), but more just like, attention to it. More attention to it, so it’s not like I’m holding my breath. The more I hold my breath, the more tight I can be, not like water.”

Appropriate analogy, for Henderson’s game, at its apex, flows. Like all great ballhandlers, he never appears sped up, no matter where he is on the court. The concern about his game coming into the league was his outside shooting; teams will go under his pick-and-rolls early and often. But Henderson can counter with a slick midrange game, and he’s able to get to floaters and elbow shots seemingly at will.

“The thing I’ve noticed is, he listens,” Brooks said. “Scoot is all eyes and ears. He wants to get better, and he wants to listen. He came up to me, unsolicited, and said, ‘Coach, I can’t wait to pick your brain.’ I’m excited for that, because I’ve obviously coached a couple of really dynamic, athletic point guards. And one of his favorite players was Russell (Westbrook). I’ve seen Russell his first seven years of his career. I’ve seen him, his work ethic. Just being around Scoot for two weeks, there’s so many similarities. And the thing, the biggest thing that stands out, is his serious approach to the game. There’s no nonsense in his work. He’s not about a lot of the other things; he’s about trying to get better. And he’s really serious about that.”

Of course, Hart wanted Henderson to go number one. But he knows Portland can be a great spot for Henderson. There will be pressure on him, to be sure – he’s likely replacing a local legend, and he’s a top-three pick for a franchise that’s been snakebit picking that high. But the break with Lillard will get Portland a lot of assets, and the Blazers already have a lot of talent – Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Nassir Little, along with fellow rookies Murray, Rayan Rupert and center Ibou Badji – that fit into Henderson’s timeline. The re-signed Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle are solid veterans.

Portland’s rebuilding, to be sure. But Henderson could accelerate that process exponentially.

“I was so happy that he got drafted to Portland,” Hart said. “Of course, you always want them to go high. But I always say, you want to get to a situation where you can grow. Because at the end of the day, Miller, Wembanyama, Scoot, they’re all going to get the same max contract. But for Scoot, it was a blessing. He was with a point guard for two years. Now you’re going to an NBA MVP point guard. And that’s just going to take his learning to another level, because they’re going to speak the same language every day. So he’s been getting that throughout his basketball journey, and I think that’s going to give him the upper (hand) over a lot of guys.”

Henderson will have to adjust to the size of the opposition, the length of the multiple bodies that will guard him every night. He knows that. He knows there will be opponents who are longer, more athletic, stronger. He’s not going to be able to do certain things that he could do in the G League. But he believes he’s getting smarter every day. He knows he’ll be able to create off the dribble and spray. He expects to be great.

Billups will be watching, every night, to make sure Henderson doesn’t stumble on the things young players always trip over.

“I think just small details out there,” Billups said. “Because you can get to the hole any time, sometimes you miss that simple kick pass that could have gave a couple of guys more confidence to play. ‘Cause you can just do it on your own all the time. We won’t let him forget those things. He’ll always be able to get to the basket, create separation, get his shot off. He’ll be able to do those things. But I’ll be on him. … he asks a lot of questions. With young guys, one, sometimes they’re too shy to ask questions, and two, they don’t know what questions to ask. He asks the right questions at all times. What should I have done right there? He is very inquisitive. He wants to be a dude.”

 (Top photo of Scoot Henderson: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)