Arizona hosted Campbell University forward Cedric Henderson Jr. for a visit this week, and Thursday he ended the process by announcing his transfer commitment to the Wildcats giving the program a much-needed addition for the upcoming season. Henderson averaged 14.5 points and 5.6 rebounds during his senior season at Campbell, which finished second in the Big South's North Division.
The 6-foot-6 senior played a bit out of position with the Camels, but his move to UA will allow him to serve as a perimeter player more often taking advantage of his natural scoring abilities on the wing.
Henderson, who began his career at Southwest Tennessee Community College, led Campbell in points and rebounds leading to the Memphis native declaring for the NBA draft. He ultimately withdrew his name from consideration for the draft and focused on his college options as a transfer.
He eventually made a visit to North Carolina State followed by a trip to Texas Tech with those two schools being the prime competition for the Wildcats. When Dalen Terry opted to remain in the draft at UA, it opened the door for Tommy Lloyd and his staff to make a strong push for Henderson eventually getting him on campus this week.
The Wildcats have been in need of roster additions with three players deciding to leave school early in favor of the NBA with star wing Bennedict Mathurin and starting center Christian Koloko being the other two players in addition to Terry.
That left Arizona with just nine scholarship players after Terry's decision.
Henderson will help fill a need on the perimeter with Terry and Mathurin being two key players for UA in its impressive first season under Lloyd. The program has added two international players as incoming freshmen this spring, Filip Borovicanin and Henri Veesaar, but has been hopeful of adding experienced talent to fill out the remaining spots on the roster.
Arizona had Kentucky transfer wing Keion Brooks in for a visit recently before he opted to commit to Washington while Texas transfer Courtney Ramey and Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison remain options for UA as well.
Henderson has strong bloodlines as his dad was a former NBA player who played his college basketball at Memphis after a McDonald's All-American high school career. The new UA forward played for his dad at Southwest Tennessee CC to begin his college career.
Campbell's Princeton-style offense means there will be changes for Henderson when he arrives, but he previously told The Wolfpack Central that he is looking forward to playing in a different system at his next stop.
“I can do a lot more things and be harder to guard,” he said recently. “It helps me be on the court for a longer period of time.
“I think I’d be pretty good at ball screens, but I didn’t get to do that a lot. I’d love to do that more and it would be more fun. The ball would be in my hands instead of just standing in the corner and doing a lot of cuts. It would be a faster pace as well.”
Henderson scored at least 15 points in 13 different games during the 2021-22 season including 18 points on the road against Duke.
The Memphis native is so far is the fourth new addition the Wildcats will have on the roster for the upcoming season joining Borovicanin, Veesaar and incoming freshman big man Dylan Anderson.
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