Five-star forward Shelton Henderson announced his decommitment from the Duke Blue Devils on Thursday, reopening his recruitment. What are we hearing about where he may land?
Top Programs to Watch for Five-Star SF Shelton Henderson’s Recruitment
Henderson, the 14th-highest rated player in the country for the 2025 class, had announced his decision to join the Blue Devils in November of 2024. He signed his National Letter of Intent two weeks later.
Now, nearly six months later, he’s backed out of his commitment and has been released from his NLI. His recruitment is reopened.
Five-star SF Shelton Henderson and Duke have parted ways, sources tells @247Sports.
Henderson has been released from his NLI and he has reopened his recruitment. || Story: https://t.co/hBPlaVi0yT pic.twitter.com/qXk9FbooVJ
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) April 18, 2025
Almost immediately, chatter arose about Henderson potentially joining the Miami Hurricanes. The decision would center around their head coach, the recently hired Jai Lucas, who was on the Duke staff until early March.
Presumably, he was involved in Henderson’s recruitment; if he were an extremely essential part, the young forward could opt to follow Lucas and sign with the Hurricanes.
It would be a huge win for Miami, which endured a 7-24 campaign in 2024-25, culminating in a last-place finish in the ACC. Lucas has already brought in an impressive transfer portal class, including former Michigan Wolverines point guard Tre Donaldson and former New Mexico Lobos combo guard Tru Washington. Each averaged double-figure scoring last season.
During his early recruiting process, Henderson visited three other schools besides the Blue Devils. That list included the Texas Longhorns, Louisville Cardinals, and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Each made the NCAA Tournament in 2025.
The Red Raiders are an especially interesting fit, as starting small forward Darrion Williams is currently in the transfer portal. With the return of Big 12 Player of the Year J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech is quickly looking to piece the roster back together in hopes of making an even deeper run than the Elite Eight. They were defeated by the eventual national champion Florida Gators at that point last month.
If Henderson were to land with the Red Raiders, it’s viable that he could fit right into the starting lineup and fill Williams’ position.
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It’s still early, and there hasn’t been a ton to glean from reporting so far — making it possible that a dark-horse emerges amongst the favorites previously listed.
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