Tennessee’s summer work has included a careful eye on sophomore guard Troy Henderson, who is still rehabbing the left shoulder he had surgically repaired on Wednesday, April 8 after dealing with the injury through the back half of his freshman season.
Rick Barnes said the recovery is moving along better than expected.
“He’s doing good,” Barnes said. “He’s probably ahead of schedule.
We’re trying to slow him down a little bit. He wants to - he’s chomping at the bit to get back out there.
We had to slow him down a little bit, but he’s doing good.”
Henderson was on the floor for last Thursday’s practice open to the media, though most of his work came from the side. He did get in some stationary shooting, something made possible because the injury is on his left shoulder rather than his right.
Barnes said in March that Henderson had been fighting through the shoulder issue for the stretch run before eventually going under the knife this offseason.
The 6-foot-1 guard first entered the transfer portal this offseason, then reversed course and decided to stay in Knoxville. In his announcement, Henderson said, “Thinking further about my future and having a great conversation with Coach Barnes and the staff, I’ve realized there is no place I’d rather be than right here on Rocky Top,”
As a freshman, Henderson appeared in 28 games and averaged 1.8 points and 1.1 assists in seven minutes per game. He also showed he could space the floor, hitting 15 threes at a 34% rate, while making just two shots from inside the arc.
The Virginia native spent much of the season competing with Ethan Burg for the backup point guard role behind Ja’Kobi Gillespie. Henderson held that job at times, but Burg ultimately claimed it, and Henderson played only four minutes across Tennessee’s final five games.
Now Henderson is trying to earn a larger role in a backcourt that is loaded for next season. Tennessee added Terrence Hill, Dai Dai Ames, Juke Harris and Tyler Lundblade from the transfer portal and signed high school recruits Marquis Clark and Manny Green.
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Tennessee Suddenly Has One Defender Carrying Huge Pressure Up Front
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The most important name in that mix may be Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam, who coaches have already singled out for the way he handled spring practices. With the interior of the line suddenly carrying more pressure, Tennessee is counting on Gilliam to become a steady presence in the middle and help stabilize a group that no longer has much margin for error. [Read more 🡒]