Kansas exhales after Henry watch ends
Posted: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 10:24 PM
Filed Under:
Big 12, Recruiting
Kansas fans can exhale. Xavier Henry is still coming to Lawrence.
One of the nation’s prize recruits – a 6-6 sweet-shooting guard is high on anyone’s list – gave the Jayhawk faithful a tense 12 hours or so on Tuesday when word surfaced that Henry was re-considering his commitment to Bill Self’s squad and possibly headed to Kentucky (if only to complete what was already a ridiculously good recruiting class).
But later that night, Henry texted a radio station he was sticking with KU.
“I’m going to Kansas and that’s final,” the text read.
Henry and his brother C.J., 23, who spent the last few years playing minor league baseball, both gave the OK to Self after backing out of a commitment to Memphis when John Calipari left for Kentucky.
But things got interesting after their dad, Carl, talked with the Kansas City Star. The result was a story that didn’t sit well with Kansas fans – Xavier will be a one-and-done player while C.J. may be better than returning stars like Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor, according to Carl – or with the Henry family, who felt the story portrayed them in a negative light.
Later, Carl said there was nothing factually wrong with the story, but wasn’t happy with the writer. “The guy who wrote that story kind of betrayed my whole family and kind of made us look bad, like my kids are prima donnas, all I do is talk.”
So, the family sat down Tuesday and discussed if Kansas was still the place to be. Guess that settles that. For now. This is a story that could fester.
