Henderson shines

Arkansas forward Ethan Henderson played a combined 43 minutes with 7 points and 7 rebounds in 10 SEC regular-season games, but the 6-8 junior from Little Rock played a key role off the bench in the SEC Tournament.

Henderson had 7 rebounds, 4 points and 3 blocked shots in 26 minutes against LSU with just 1 turnover. He had 4 points and 2 blocked shots in 8 minutes against Missouri on Friday night.

“I thought Ethan played hard for us,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. “He played his role.”

When Arkansas beat LSU 99-90 last season in Walton Arena, Henderson had 10 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes.

“Ethan Henderson, he’s been a thorn in our side,” LSU Coach Will Wade said.

“Ethan, he really stepped up,” Arkansas forward Justin Smith said. “He gave us a lot of good minutes. He made us be able to do a little bit more different things on defense. He made us more versatile.”

Henderson played minutes in the SEC Tournament that likely would have gone to 6-10 freshman Jaylin Williams, who traveled with the team to Nashville, Tenn., but missed his fourth consecutive game Saturday for an undisclosed reason.

Musselman said Williams will be able to play in the NCAA Tournament.

“I think Ethan really stepped up in Jaylin’s shoes since he’s been gone,” Arkansas guard Moses Moody said. “We needed a guy to come in and do what Ethan did. He fulfilled that role.

“Jaylin coming back is going to be an extra plus, and with Ethan playing the way he is, that’s going to be a new addition to the team almost.”