Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes was watching five-star power forward Nate Ament an an AAU tournament late last summer when Ament’s Team Loaded point guard Troy Henderson grabbed his attention.
“The ball had went out of bounds and I had gone to take the ball out of bounds and Coach Barnes was like, ‘you look good in orange.’ And ever since then it was a memorable moment,” Henderson told RTI on Tuesday afternoon. ‘I couldn’t forget it. It’s a Hall of Fame coach.”
For months the story was only a good anecdote. Tennessee had interest in Henderson but never extended an offer with the Virginia point guard eventually committing to Fordham. But that changed late last week when Fordham fired head coach Keith Urgo and Henderson opened up his recruitment.
Henderson committed to Tennessee basketball on Tuesday afternoon, just three days after he publicly announced his de-commitment from Fordham.
‘I was like let’s see if Tennessee still has interest or if they have already recruited a point guard,” Henderson said. “Then Coach (Justin) Gainey reached out. And then this is when they were playing UCLA … they said right after the game that Coach Barnes told Coach Gainey, ‘we need that Henderson kid.’”
Tennessee lined up a visit with Henderson shortly after the win over UCLA. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard arrived in Knoxville on Sunday night and went through his visit on Monday.
“It was amazing,” Henderson said. “The facilities are top tier. It seems like everybody plays a role. I feel like that’s the key to success. The coaching staff, the players and nutritionists, strength and conditioning coach. Even down to the academic advisor, it seems like everyone plays a role and that’s what makes Tennessee so special.”
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Henderson walked through campus, toured the facilities and watched Tennessee players go through a shooting drill but it was after watching film with Barnes that Henderson was convinced he wanted to be a Vol and committed to the staff.
“The system is a point guard’s dream,” Henderson said. “The way Zeigler handles the offensive and defensive side is just like— I can see myself in that spot. I committed after the film session.”
Tennessee views Henderson as an effective multiple-year player who is capable of running its offense at a high level. Henderson’s true point guard ability is what Tennessee’s staff noticed about Henderson during the AAU circuit and that’s what the John Marshal High School native says is one of his biggest strengths.
“My strength is my ability to lead a team. I’m a dawg,” Henderson said. “I take pride in defense. I can get my teammates involved. Other high level talent likes playing with me because I can get them involved. Get them in their sweet spots. I’m just a dawg.”
Henderson is Tennessee basketball’s third commit in its 2025 signing class along with wing Amari Evans and center DeWayne Brown. With the Vols losing six seniors off this year’s roster, the trio gives the Vols a new group of multiple year players while they continue to supplement their roster through the transfer portal.
What does Henderson want Vol fans to know about him? He’s looking to continue the program’s winning ways among other things.
“I’m going to bring it every night,” Henderson said. “Day in and day out I’m going to work hard and game time I’m going to be electric. I’m going to be entertaining to watch and most importantly, I’m going to get wins.”
