Eleven Fighting Illini #5: Myke Henry November 5, 2012
Myke Henry
Wing/Forward
6′-6″, 230 lbs.
Sophomore
Orr HS / Chicago, Illinois
What I Know About Him:
The first film I saw on Myke Henry screamed 2-guard to me. Didn’t have the best handle, but he had this sweet stroke and great release. I thought that if he improved his handle, he could be a really solid wing guard.
Then he reported to Illinois weighing 245 lbs, and I realized he might be more Nick Anderson-like. Certainly not that skill level, but broad shoulders that are hard to guard and even harder to keep away from the rebound.
He’s really more something in between. I think he’ll play most of his minutes at the 4 this year, with a few minutes on the wing here and there.
What I Expect From Him:
To me, Henry is the X factor on this team. I see two scenarios.
1) He’s a man without a country. A tall, strong 2-guard trying to play the 4. A little more slender and quick, and he’s a fantastic scoring wing. A little taller, and he’s a dominant Big Ten 4 – shooting touch to stretch the D, athleticism to lead the team in rebounds. But he never becomes any of those things. Too short for the 4, not quick enough for the 2, too thick for the 3. A tweener.
2) He’s Roger Powell 2.0. Undersized, but very, very active. Great passer. Range to the three point line. Athletic enough to guard the other team’s power forward. Aggressive on offense. A ball-hog, even, in a good way. Great rebounder. Misses a three his senior season against Louisville in the Final Four, but follows his own missed three with a tip dunk. I’ll take it all.
If Henry is #2, this team has a good chance to surprise some people. He’d be the missing piece in the frontcourt. If Henry is #1, then we probably struggle against athletic frontcourts. We really need someone to step forward to take on that challenge.
And if Henry becomes the first ever point-center, leading the team in assists and blocked shots, then we’re totally winning the national title.
Just have to ask if you are ok. It appears to me that you fell HARD last night right on your head. “Point center”, “National title”. Wow, where did that come from if not a serious blow to the noggin.
That’s called Jabari on the Brain Syndrome, or JOTBS.
Steve,
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Robert almost always tries to to think as positive as humanly possible when it comes to our football and hoops teams. Check out these 2 quotes from 10/28/10, the “Mike Shaw to Illinois” post:
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“Stringing classes together is the key. And we’ve done that. When you look at all of the college basketball rosters a year from today, we’re easily in the top-10 in talent and depth. I’d put us 6th, behind Kentucky, UNC, Duke, Texas, and Ohio State, just edging out Syracuse and Michigan State with Florida and Villanova rounding out the Top 10.”
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“What does this mean? It means that on paper, this is one of, if not the, most talented teams in Illini history. Talent isn’t the only thing, mind you – you have to have experience and leadership and, most importantly, a solid rotation.”
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Hey, it may be easy to say “look how wrong you were”, but that just takes away the fun. Final Four here we come.