Henderson hits milestone
Catholic Memorial star reaches 1,000 points
ROXBURY — Catholic Memorial basketball coach Denis Tobin remembers the first time Kurtis Henderson walked into his math class as an eighth grader and said he was a good player. That turned out to be a massive understatement. Not only has Henderson proven that he can play basketball, he’s done it at a high level. A starter since his freshman year, the 5-foot-10 junior has evolved into one of the premier guards in the state. Henderson reached a milestone Tuesday night when he became the 13th player in school history to reach 1,000 points, pouring in 33 in a 76-53 victory over St. John’s Prep.
Tobin has been blessed with several big-time scorers in his 17 years at the helm. He feels Henderson belongs in the mix due in large part to his vast offensive repertoire.
“Kurtis has the ability to score in all different ways,” Tobin said. “He makes threes, has a very good pullup game and he’s terrific at taking the ball to the rim and finish. He’s very hard to guard because you take away one thing and he can do something else.”
Henderson arrived at Catholic Memorial due in large part to what some former hoop players from his hometown of Brockton said about the school and their experience with the basketball program.
“I knew the school had a winning coach here,” Henderson said. “My friend Ulyen Coleman (who starred at CM) was always telling them that coach Tobin is a good guy and a winning coach.”
Henderson exploded onto the scene last year, averaging more than 24 points a game in leading the Knights to a 15-7 season. He was at his best in the postseason, scoring 33 points in an overtime win over Quincy, then tallying 31 in a narrow loss against powWEST erhouse Brookline.
With a relatively inexperienced team back, Henderson has been asked to shoulder a bigger load and he’s been up to the task. He’s averaging more than 20 points a game in leading Catholic Memorial to a 7-1 record with the only loss coming to Newton North, 72-63, in the finals of Garden City Tournament.
“My role has definitely changed from last year to this year,” Henderson said. “I’ve become more of a leader as coach Tobin asked me to do at the beginning of the year. We’ve got a bunch of new guys and they’re not used to the environments that I’ve been playing in. I’ve just to teach them and guide them the best way I can.”