How would life in Chapel Hill be different without John Henson?
The 2009-2010 college basketball season was one of the more forgettable ones in UNC history, but it was the start of a successful career for big man John Henson.
Initially North Carolina’s starting small forward his freshman year, Henson moved to power forward upon Ed Davis‘ season-ending injury. Henson truly started to deliver his impact the succeeding two seasons, winning consecutive ACC Defensive Player of the Year awards, while helping the Tar Heels to a pair of Elite Eight appearances.
Did you know that Henson almost didn’t play at UNC? On his new TarHeel247 basketball podcast, Henson revealed he wanted to become a Texas Longhorn.
“For me, I wanted to go to Texas,” Henson said. “I was a Texas kid. My dad was like “You’re trippin’, it’s North Carolina. You’ve got to at least give them a look. And then I went to campus, like HB (Harrison Barnes) said, it was the family environment, it was just a different feel than all the other visits I went to. When I went to UCLA and Texas, I felt a little animosity. It was weird energy. I wasn’t feeling it. Carolina was a school that kind of showed love for me.”
Henson grew up in Greensboro, but played his first three years of high school basketball at Round Rock High School in Texas. After his three years at North Carolina, Henson enjoyed an 8-year NBA career spent mostly with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Can you imagine if Henson never joined the Tar Heels? Those deep, 2011 and 2012 NCAA Tournament runs might be non-existent.
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