Henderson, the retired longtime North High School basketball (and baseball) coach, is one of a class of 18 individuals and three teams to be enshrined Saturday, May 22, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Also being inducted posthumously will be another area coaching legend, Frank Shannon, of Olive Branch, Tecumseh and Urbana high school fame.
In his usual humble candor, Henderson hopes his moment in the spotlight won’t last too long.
“The nice thing about this is all the inductees are only given two minutes (to speak),” he said. “That’s what I like about it. I don’t have to try to make up some big speech.
“We’ve got a speaker (Ohio State and NBA great Clark Kellogg), so we don’t need any inductees giving speeches.”
That doesn’t mean the night won’t be special.
“It’s pretty fast company, and I’m very humbled by this,” said Henderson. “I know it was because Doc (Daugherty) and I were kind of forerunners in getting this thing done. We don’t measure up to some of these guys coming in as far as credentials are concerned.”
Henderson and Daugherty have spent countless volunteer hours, over the course of a decade or so, spearheading the movement to make the Hall a reality.
“This has been a passion for us, trying to keep the history of Ohio basketball alive,” Henderson said.
Henderson started coaching at in the Springfield system in 1960 and retired in 1989. He will have a nice group of well-wishers attending Saturday night.
“We have a good representation of Wittenberg, former players and people I’ve worked with in the District 9 Ohio Basketball Coaches Association (for 40 years),” he said.
Like Shannon, he can thank a commitment to discipline, integrity and hard work for the honor.
“I started out at junior high in the city system, and he already knew my name,” said Henderson of Shannon. “He was a very personable person. I’d see him at clinics, and at games. We believed in a lot of the same principles. If you went to Wittenberg, you had to. A lot of that stuff rubs off on you.”
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