Henderson Emerging from Tiny's Shadow

1983-84 Boston Celtics
Record 30-9
January 20, 1984

HARTFORD

"I felt two years ago I could have been doing the same things. But I never had a chance to play a lot of important minutes."

-- Gerald Henderson

His confidence is growing, and so are his skills as a point guard for the Celtics. Nobody expects Gerald Henderson to make the world forget Tiny Archibald overnight. But it could happen faster than people think, if Henderson continues his rapid development. The author of this notion is Celtics coach K.C. Jones, who long ago expressed his confidence in the five-year veteran by making him a starter over heralded teammates Quinn Buckner and Danny Ainge. Henderson has started all 39 games for Boston this season.

Henderson is averaging 25.9 minutes, 11.8 points and 3.6 assists a game, and is slowly rising out of Archibald's shadow. Henderson's reputation as a shooter is growing, and he is the top Celtics' shooter from three-point range (13 of 27). He has a knack for dishing off, too, with eight assists in three of his last four games. "Gerry should be an All-Star," said Jones, "based on the way he's playing lately. He's moving the ball up the court, playing good defense and finding his spots on the floor to shoot nicely. Too bad there are only so many spots."

Henderson has earned Jones' respect through hard work. Not only from hours of extra work before and after practices, but from realizing that what kept him from stardom was a lack of playing time and inconsistency from the field. When Archibald was dropped last summer, the Celtics assured Henderson of playing time. But it was up to Henderson, who turned 28 Monday, to do the rest. He began by showing he could blend well with Dennis Johnson, a defensive- minded guard who does damage underneath the basket. Jones liked the way Henderson got back to cover on defense, a necessity with Johnson inside, and his ability to hit the wide-open jumper when teams sagged too much on the Celtics.

Until the league caught on, Henderson was having a ball with the three- point goal. He was particularly adept from either corner, and had great success at home (11-17). "But since it's gotten around," says Henderson, "they have been trying to take that away from me. I guess I'll have to try a couple of spots on the floor to take that shot. I enjoy the three-pointer. It's like a layup some nights. It's something I'd been working on all during the summer. So I said, Why not give it a try during the season?' "

His teammates hope it gets around that Henderson is becoming a class act, one who within a short time will command the respect given his predecessors. "He's young, and he's getting better each game," says Johnson. "He really is having an excellent year, and he'll be even better if he takes the advice (of the coaches) and puts it to use. If he keeps playing at this rate, by the end of next year, he will be one of the better point guards in the league." Henderson says things are much different for him under Jones than it was the last few seasons under Bill Fitch.

"I felt two years ago, I could have been doing these same things, if given the chance," says Henderson. "But Tiny was here, and then they brought in Quinn. I never had a chance to play a lot of important minutes. This year I have, and my skills and my confidence have come along. "I take pride in being an all-round player - one able to do a lot of things pretty well. Defense, offense. If I'm called on to put the ball in the hole, I'm capable of doing that, also."

Henderson was an outstanding shooter at Virginia Union College, and in the Western League in 1979, where he was MVP. But while playing in the shadow of Archibald, he seldom got enough minutes to develop his own style. Fitch counted on Henderson more for his quickness, particularly on defense, than on his shooting. Henderson lost confidence, especially last year, when he dropped below 50 percent (.462) and continued to have problems with shot selection. This season, Henderson is hitting at a .568 clip (196-345). Twice he has scored season-highs of 21 points, and some of his three-point goals have been game breakers.

MISC

Robert Parish had a painful ingrown toenail removed yesterday but is expected to play tonight (7:30, Ch. 4) against the Pacers. Parish did not practice yesterday at Hellenic College and will not take part in today's shoot-around. He is averaging 23.7 points and 12 rebounds a game against Indiana. Boston has won all three games against the Pacers this year, but has had a lot of trouble with Indiana's front line, led by Clark Kellogg (23.7 points) and Herb Williams (21.3 and 10 rebounds).