Five-star prospect lands with Jon Scheyer's former assistant after decommitting from Duke

Five-star prospect Shelton Henderson has committed to the University of Miami. This announcement comes just days after Henderson announced that he was decommitting from Duke and reopening his recruitment.

It was a big surprise to the Blue Devil program and its fans to see Henderson decommit from the program originally, as the five-star wing originally committed to Duke way back in November. Henderson was seen as a huge boost for the Blue Devils to land fellow five-star prospect Nate Ament, as the two are close friends.

But here as we stand in late April, the Duke program is now without both Henderson and Ament.

Henderson will be taking his talents to Coral Gables, following newly appointed head coach Jai Lucas. Lucas was a former assistant on Jon Scheyer's staff, originally hired as an assistant coach in 2022, and was eventually deemed associate head coach in 2023.

Lucas played a huge role in the recruitment of Henderson to Duke, which could be a big reason why Henderson ultimately decided to reopen his recruitment and play solely for Scheyer's former assistant.

Lucas was seen as one of the top recruiters in college basketball. During his time at Duke, he was responsible for the commitments of guys like Cooper Flagg, Cameron Boozer, Khaman Maluach, and Kon Knueppel.

Before his tenure with the Blue Devils, Lucas previously served as an assistant at Kentucky and Texas. He was responsible for reeling in commitments from highly-touted recruits there as well, such as Shaedon Sharpe, Cason Wallace, and TyTy Washington while with the Wildcats.

When Henderson first decommitted from Duke, it was seen as a potential sign that the Blue Devils were bringing back some key guys that not everyone was expecting to return. However, with Tyrese Proctor and Cooper Flagg both announcing they would be declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft, it's a bit strange to see Henderson go right out of the blue.

Regardless, Scheyer will now have even more work cut out for him in the transfer portal this offseason. Duke dropped from the #1 overall 2025 recruiting class to #3 following Henderson's departure, and the program has already lost Knueppel, Flagg, and Proctor.

Four 2024-25 starters are already on their way out, and it's practically a guarantee that the entire starting five will be gone as Khaman Maluach hasn't declared for the draft yet but is seen as a consensus top-ten pick.

The portal will now play an integral role in the Blue Devils' ceiling next season. After Lucas swiped Henderson from Duke, the Blue Devils are bringing in five-star Cameron Boozer and four-stars Cayden Boozer and Nik Khamenia. Caleb Foster and Darren Harris have also announced their returns to Durham next season.