University of Missouri basketball fans (all four of them) are breathing a sigh of relief today as highly touted recruit Xavier Henry has signed with Memphis instead of Mizzou’s rival Kansas.
Henry, a 6-6 shooting guard from Okahoma City’s Putnam City High School, told ESPN this morning, “The deciding factor was getting my last chance to play together with my brother at Memphis and keeping my family together so everyone could watch us. We both know how to play and we play great. We should be able to take over Memphis.”
Oh, to be young and optimistic. It wasn’t too long ago that a fresh-faced kid with a flowery last name from the South Side of Chicago made an identical decision to join John Calipari’s tenacious Tigers. Henry’s tenure in Memphis, one can only assume, will last as long as that of Derrick Rose.
But will it be as successful? Who cares. Kudos to him for eschewing millions in Europe for a crack at the college experience. The freshman year of college is an important step in the development of a young man’s psyche — or so we hear.
Speaking of the Bulls’ rookie darling, does Henry’s style of play strike anyone else as being eerily Rose-esque?
