[New] In Year 2, Henderson continues to build his game

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

From the day he first stepped on the floor as a freshman, Matt Henderson has always had more responsibility than your typical first-year forward.

Playing with a team that relied on its perimeter game and largely center-less small ball, Henderson joined the Indians roster and was tasked with everything from defending centers down low, getting possessions where he’d run the offense and, in critical junctures, being the player with the ball in his hands with the game narrowing in on crunch time.

Now in his sophomore season and coming off a terrific football season as one of Powhatan’s de facto deep threats in the passing game, Henderson is getting just as much opportunity to lead and be a relied on scoring presence on the basketball team.

He’s not treating it like anything new though.

“All the guys, we’re all friends and everyone gets along so there’s no hardships with leading the team,” Henderson said.

Henderson and the Indians, off to a 2-6 start under new head coach Brock Geiman, are still settling into a new offensive system predicated on more ball movement, less one-on-one attacks and shot selection based more on the flow of that ball movement and how the defense is reacting.

A change in style will always take time, but Henderson says the team is taking a page from the book of the Philadelphia 76ers’ famous “Trust the Process” motto that defined their rebuilding era in the mid-2010s.

“That’s our big quote for the year is trusting the process,” he said. “I feel like we’re getting there, and each day is a great day. We’re competing hard in practice and making everyone better.”

The primary theme of trusting the process is patience, something Geiman has displayed with his team and something Henderson says he and his teammates have appreciated in the early parts of the season. Having a coach that can relate to his team and work with them through this adjustment period has been a big help in Powhatan competing during their first few games while still learning and developing together at the same time.

Aside from the team-based adjustments, Henderson is always working on his own game as well. Playing with the AAU club Team Richmond from the spring into the summer, Henderson’s playing talented opposition when the Powhatan season ends while also working through different roles on Team Richmond, something that only adds to the versatility he’s already demonstrated at the high school level.

In the AAU circuit, Henderson taps more into the frontcourt experience he had in his freshman year at Powhatan, mostly setting up shop in the post and guarding bigs more often than he’s defending on the wings. It’s less ball handling and distributing than he’s used to with the Indians now, but it all cultivates into a balanced play style.