Henderson makes his move

Tavian Henderson never expected sainthood to be bestowed upon him but after his sterling play throughout both the St. Patrick-St. Vincent regular schedule as well as the post-season, the 6-foot-4 guard has earned a scholarship from St. Martin's University, aka the Saints.

Every recruiting tale is a little different and Henderson's connection with a St. Martin assistant coach and then the comfort he felt during his official visit were foremost in his decision to head to Lacey, Washington.

"My recruitment began during the summer between my junior and senior years. Then at the beginning of the season Coach Dave [Assistant Coach Dave Granucci] and I began to build a relationship. We hit it off and developed a strong bond."

Henderson then found more to like during his official visit. "It seemed like a family-oriented program. I liked the coaches and they cared about the guys beyond basketball. When I stepped into the gym, the players came over, welcomed me and shook my hand."

Although he isn't yet sure what he will select as a major, he'll be bringing a 3.71 cumulative grade point average as a strong indicator of success in whatever academic direction he decides to head.

Asked about his best skills and what he'll bring to his new team, Henderson said, "my defense, rebounding and getting to the basket. Plus, my athleticism and dedication to do whatever it takes to win. I'm hardworking, coachable and a good teammate."

He related that St. Patrick-St. Vincent had four major goals coming into the season. "We wanted to win league, section, Nor Cal and state." The Bruins tied for first in the Tri-County-Rock League standings but came up short in the North Coast Section semifinals. However, they won in the Division IV NorCal championship game and followed that by successfully capping off the season by winning the CIF State Division IV championship over Helix High, the first in boys basketball for the school. Talk about finishing strong: the last five games of the season for Coach Derek Walker's guys were 91-18, 89-54, 73-55, 73-48 and 59-46 victories.

What was he feeling right after that state championship? "That finally, all my hard work, the suicide liners and the conditioning, paid off. We won our last high school basketball game."

Henderson offered thanks to "my family, my coaches -- Head Coach Derek Walker, Coach Darryl Walker and Coach Bakari Hendrix -- for being on me as a player and developing me, and my teammates because, without my team, none of this would have been accomplished."