J&C Big School boys basketball Player of the Year: Harrison's Ben Henderson
WEST LAFAYETTE − The first day of third grade, knowing no one, Ben Henderson sat alone at the lunch table.
Henderson had just moved to Battle Ground from Iowa and needed to find that first friend to feel included.
It was Chaydon Miller who reached out, inviting Henderson to sit with him at lunch.
"After lunch was recess and he said do you want to go play basketball or whatever," Henderson recalled. "I said, 'yeah, sure.' "
Even as Henderson started excelling as an all-state football player for the Harrison Raiders, basketball remained his true passion.
As a senior this winter, Henderson elevating his game was necessary early with Harrison riddled with injuries and illnesses.
Henderson responded with four straight games scoring 22 or more points and winning Most Valuable Player of the IU Health Hoops Classic.
It became the jolt Henderson and the Raiders needed.
Henderson averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game, leading the Raiders to an 18-7 record and is the 2023 Journal & Courier Big School boys basketball Player of the Year.
More: Journal & Courier Big School All-Area boys basketball team
"He carried us so much early," Harrison coach Mark Rinehart said. "We had so many guys hurt and sick and he rose to the occasion."
Henderson carried the Raiders not just statistically, but from a leadership standpoint.
It came naturally as a quarterback on the football field, but it was a role Henderson had to grow into on the basketball court.
After being the go-to player throughout his childhood, he entered high school and was part of a stacked varsity roster his freshman year.
Henderson averaged just 2.3 points per game that season.
"The good thing about that was that team he was on, we were so good," Rinehart said. "He got to sit back and learn."
As a sophomore, he increased his scoring output by 11 points per game. Then scored 16.8 points as a junior and finished his career with 1,182 points.
"It's a learning moment. When you're a guy who touches the ball all the time and then your freshman year, you have to do the little things to make sure your team wins, it's humbling, but it is a good learning experience," Henderson said. "Not everybody is going to be the man."
Henderson eventually became Harrison's go-to player, but by then he had to make a decision.
Henderson's parents stressed academics come first, then athletics. Henderson took that to heart, carrying a 3.9 grade-point average.
But when it came to athletics, Henderson wasn't sure what came first. As his football performance improved, college coaches began inquiring about him playing on the gridiron in college.
When breaking down pros and cons for both, Henderson stuck with his decision to play basketball at Marian University.
"I didn't think I'd be that good at football and all the sudden I am excelling," Henderson said. "It was a whole new perspective of what I want to do. It took time and constant communication. I figured out I wanted to play basketball.
"I've always wondered since my freshman year. I've always had to split my time between different things and I wondered how good could I be if I just focused on basketball or focused on football. Once my full focus is on one sport, I am going to skyrocket."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: J&C Big School basketball Player of the Year: Harrison's Ben Henderson
