Five-Star Wing Shelton Henderson and Duke End Their Partnership

Shelton Henderson, huh? Yeah, he’s that big shot recruit everyone was buzzing about — you know, one of those basketball prodigies everyone’s always talking about. Anyway, he was gonna be suiting up for Duke, like, made it official and everything, but now… not so much. Some folks at 247Sports were whispering in my ear — metaphorically, of course, but you get the drift — that he just ripped up his National Letter of Intent to Duke. I mean, poof, just like that! He’s free as a bird and looking around for a new place to call home court.

Let’s paint the picture a bit. He’s this towering 6’6” small forward out of Bellaire, Texas. Imagine trying to dunk on that guy. Yeah, maybe not. He picked Duke over the likes of Texas and Louisville — and probably about a dozen more I can’t remember. But, now, he’s back on the market, looking for greener pastures or, you know, bluer ones, who knows?

Get this — he was, like, the last piece of this killer recruiting jigsaw puzzle that Duke was putting together. They’ve got this boss-level class with names like Cameron and Cayden Boozer (not even kidding) and Nikolas Khamenia. He decided to bounce, and honestly, it doesn’t shock me. Apparently, Duke’s got this loaded roster with enough firepower on the perimeter for the next season, so maybe the writing was on the wall? Or maybe it’s just one of those “spring cleaning” moments all these recruits seem to go through. Man, every few months, right?

During the whole “I’m gonna play for Duke” tour, he was vibing a lot with Jai Lucas, who used to coach at Duke before taking his talents — yeah, like LeBron — to Miami. They’ve got this Texas connection thing going on. But, here’s the kicker: all this transfer portal madness is like earthquake-level shaking up recruitment for these big names. It’s like a revolving door sometimes, you know?

And, speaking of decommitting, it’s not like Henderson’s walking the lonesome road. Nope. You’ve got guys like Liam McNeely or Ron Holland who’ve gone through this whole rigmarole. Seems like spring is the new ‘reset button’ season for recruits.

Now that Henderson’s back on the “free agent” scene, he’s, like, the second most sought-after player in the Class of 2025. Right behind this dude named Nate Ament — who I’d personally never wanna guard in a game, yikes. Henderson, by the way, is this beast on the court, a long-limbed baller who’s got defense chops and runs that open court like it’s nothing. Honestly, it makes sense teams are gonna be drooling over him.

So, long story short, Duke’s recruiting standing took a bit of a hit. They dropped to the fifth spot for the 2025 class ranking since their dream lineup now has a Shelton-shaped hole. But hey, life goes on, and Duke still expects to have a fierce squad coming back from their last run to the Final Four. Alright, I’m out. Keep an eye on where Shelton lands next — it’s gonna be interesting!