Williams isn't scared of Henson's height
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 6:38 PM
Filed Under:
Freshmen, ACC
Height usually makes people overthink thing. My favorite was when Kevin Durant entered the NBA draft, but there was heated debates among NBA pundits if he could actually play power forward. You know, ‘cause he’s 6-10.
“He’s gonna have to bulk up to bang down low in the NBA.”
“Durant could rebound in college, but that was because of his long arms. That won’t fly in the NBA.”
“Can he guard opposing power forwards?”
It was a bunch of hooey. Anyone who saw Durant play knew he’d be a 2 or 3 in the pros, even if he did struggle to guard shorter, quicker guards. Won’t they have to guard him as well?
Turns out a similar discussion surrounds incoming freshman John Henson at North Carolina. Henson’s 6-10, and does pretty much everything well. He may not have Durant’s jumper, but he’ll be a matchup nightmare for nearly every swingman.
Well, Roy Williams doesn’t overthink things either.
In his preseason analysis of his squad, Williams has a cut-and-dried version of what Henson will do.
“John will begin the season on the perimeter as a three and I think he will stay there all season. He has tremendously long arms and will probably block more shots than any perimeter player in college basketball. With Ed (Davis) and Deon (Thompson), we may block more shots than any team I’ve ever coached. John has the ability with his length to hurt you inside and also step out and put the ball on the floor or shoot it.”
The Heels are going big, folks. Henson may spell Thompson or Davis or Zeller on the block, but it looks like Williams wants to have Henson sticking his arms into other people’s business. Especially when they’re shooting.
(H/T: Tar Heel Fan)
