What is Gerald Henderson's ceiling?

[Veteran_Picksetter]

I've read a few comments on here that he has reached his potential. Frankly, I don't see how that is the case. He was banished to the bench as a rookie under the win-now, veteran-oriented regime of Larry Brown. He has only played 2,726 total minutes of nba ball. That's the equivalent of merely one season for many starters: 33 minutes a night for 82 games = 2,706 minutes.

One thing of note: Henderson's first sport growing up was golf. He was serious about becoming a professional golfer while other players were focused on basketball. That could help explain why, as the son of a former NBA player, he isn't tearing up the league yet.

I stand by an earlier predictiion that Henderson will average 18 points with decent FG% and solid defense someday.

Thoughts?

[Veteran_Picksetter]

Another thought: Henderson took a while to impress at Duke. But if memory serves he improved every year.

[TheBeagle]

Back when we drafted him (which I was upset with with Jrue Holiday still on the board) I thought the way he's been playing this season would be his ceiling. I figured he would max out as a backup 2 (nothing wrong with that) and at worst would be another flop. Thankfully the worst case scenario didn't happen. I still see him as being a backup 2 for a playoff team and only starting for a team with limited talent.

To me, nothing about his game has ever appeared smooth and it still doesn't. You hear people say of some scorers, 'He put up a quiet 25', but most all of Jr.'s 20+ point games have been ugly without coming easily.

Thankfully he works hard and I think he will continue to improve but I just question if he'll ever be a starter for a contending team no matter how much work he puts in, and like I said earlier, there's nothing wrong with that.

[spectre]

I want to see him stay healthy for a good stretch. Until he can do that the rest don't mean quite as much.

[bes628]

Avg to Above Avg SG.

[cltblkhscoach]

+1 spec totally onboard with that one.

[Mustachio]

to disagree with Beagle... I actually think he's quite smooth. Coming off screens his jumper fading away is pretty fluid, and looks like he belongs. To me it looks as if (whenever hes actually in uniform) he is getting the game more and more. before the latest injury he was starting to demand the ball and get to the line with consistency.

as far as ceiling goes, I say his ceiling is as a 18-20ppg starter, but like spectre says...gotta stay healthy for longer than 10 games in a row to be great.

[Veteran_Picksetter]

to disagree with Beagle... I actually think he's quite smooth. Coming off screens his jumper fading away is pretty fluid, and looks like he belongs. To me it looks as if (whenever hes actually in uniform) he is getting the game more and more. before the latest injury he was starting to demand the ball and get to the line with consistency.

as far as ceiling goes, I say his ceiling is as a 18-20ppg starter, but like spectre says...gotta stay healthy for longer than 10 games in a row to be great.

Agreed. He has that midrange catch-and-shoot down.

[Icky Thump]

Another +1 to Spectre... would be nice to see him get and stay healthy some so we can see exactly what potential he has.

[CatNation1]

he looks a little better this year but im hopin for a bigger jump next year. i think he deserves a pass with the hip surgery in the offseason

[Toocool]

Needs a tad more consistency on offense. You can notice he misses some seriously easy shots (i.e layups).

Also needs work on his ball handling before he can truly become a go-to scorer for us.

[Plowright]

I dont think we can tell his potential yet. All i know is every year he has been here he has improved. He keeps coming back and upping his game, I don't see him plateauing any time soon. I think he can be a starter on any top team due to his defensive abilities

[TattoodCats4life]

Average of 20/5/4 with 5 FT per game, occasionally going off for a 30 point game (5 per season). He will be our starter until someone can come challenge him for it, and he will improve one or two aspects of his game each and every offseason through his 7th or 8th season, he's that kind of "worker"