David McKinley Henderson (born July 21, 1964) is the amateur basketball scout for the NBA’s

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. As a basketball player, Henderson was senior co-captain of the Duke Blue Devil 1986 team that reached the NCAA Final Four. After graduating from Duke, Henderson played professional basketball for 10 years in the United States, Israel, France, and Turkey. After retirement from playing basketball, Henderson worked for three years as an assistant men’s basketball coach for Duke, followed by a six year stint as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Delaware. He has been a scout for the Cavaliers since 2006.Henderson ousted after successive 20-loss seasons – Men's College Basketball – ESPN
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College career

Henderson grew up in Drewry, North Carolina. After graduating from Warren County High School in 1982, Henderson was recruited by

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five natio ...

to play for Duke. Henderson was either a starter or 6th man throughout his college career. As a senior co-captain, Henderson started all 39 games, averaging 14.2 points per game, and helped lead the Blue Devils to the national championship game, which they lost to Louisville. Henderson graduated from Duke with a degree in economics in 1986.

Professional career

After graduation from Duke, Henderson played professional basketball for 10 years. Initially drafted by the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

in the third round of the 1986 NBA draft, Henderson spent his first year playing for the Albany Patroons in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

. During his 22 games playing for the NBA’s

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

during the 1987–88 season, Henderson averaged 5.7 points per game. Henderson spent the following 8 years playing basketball professionally in France, Israel, and Turkey. In 1991, he was named

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier lev ...

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Henderson was hired as an assistant coach at Duke in 2007. The Blue Devils won the ACC championship during each of his 3 seasons as an assistant coach, finishing national runner up in 1999. In 2000, Henderson was hired as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Delaware. In so doing, he replaced another former Duke assistant coach,

Mike Brey Michael Paul Brey (born March 22, 1959) is an American college basketball coach. He has been the men's head coach at the University of Notre Dame since July 14, 2000. Early life and education Brey, the son of Olympic swimmer Betty Brey, graduate ...

, who had been selected to become the head coach at Notre Dame. Henderson served a total of six years as head coach at Delaware. In his first season, the Blue Hens lost in the America East title game, finishing the year with a 20–10 record. After his first season, Delaware moved into a more competitive (and better funded) athletic conference, the Colonial Athletic Association. The team made the tournament semifinals the next two years, and the quarterfinals during his 4th year with the team. After consecutive losing seasons, however, Henderson was fired after the 2005–06 season.

Scouting career

Henderson was hired to be a scout by the NBA’s

in the summer of 2006. As of 2022, he continues to scout amateur players for the Cavaliers. During his time with Cleveland, he has participated in all of their annual player drafts and won an NBA championship ring in 2015.

References

External links

College and NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com
Basketpedya.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, David 1964 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players Albany Patroons players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from North Carolina Charleston Gunners players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens men's basketball coaches Duke Blue Devils men's basketball coaches Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Hapoel Holon players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Ironi Ramat Gan players Israeli Basketball Premier League players La Crosse Catbirds players People from Henderson, North Carolina Philadelphia 76ers players Rapid City Thrillers players Shooting guards Washington Bullets draft picks American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Philippine Basketball Association imports Pop Cola Panthers players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople