Xavier Henry (; born March 15, 1991) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played one year of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

with the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

before he was drafted in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

by the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. Henry's brother, C. J., was a 2005 MLB first-round draft pick and returned to college after playing three years of minor-league baseball in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

organizations. The brothers' father,

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

, played basketball at

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

in the 1980s and their mother played basketball for the Kansas women's team.

High school career

Henry was named to the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

where he scored 14 points. Henry was also selected to play in the 2009

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

at the

Rose Garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

where he led Team USA with 22 points including six 3-pointers and the Jordan Brand Classic at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

where he scored 10 points for the white team. He was ''SLAM'' magazine's high school diary keeper for the 2008–09 basketball season. On March 14, 2009, he led Putnam City High School to the Oklahoma Class 6A state championship, scoring 24 points in the title game against Jenks High School. On October 22, 2008, Henry was in a car accident and fractured his

cheekbone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from grc, ζῠγόν, zugón, yoke), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone which articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. It is s ...

. He had to have surgery in November and he missed the beginning of his senior season.

Recruitment

By the end of his senior season, Henry was ranked as the #6 overall prospect and #2

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

in the class of 2009 by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

, #8 overall and #3 shooting guard by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and #3 overall, #2 shooting guard by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Originally, Henry was heavily recruited by both

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

and

. On November 18, 2008 Henry announced his commitment to Memphis citing the opportunity to play alongside his brother, C. J., as the primary reason for the decision. In March 2009, Memphis's head coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

took the head coaching job at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

, prompting Henry to reopen his recruitment. On April 23, Henry officially announced his choice to play basketball for Kansas. , -

College career

20091219 Manny Harris guarded by Xavier Henry

Henry scored 27 points in his first college game, breaking the record for most points scored by a Jayhawk in a debut game as a freshman. On December 12, 2009, Henry scored 31 points against La Salle at the

Sprint Center T-Mobile Center (formerly Sprint Center) is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It is located at the intersection of 14th Street and Grand Boulevard on the east side of the Power & Light District. It has effectively becom ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. In doing so he became the first KU freshman to score 30 points in a game since

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN ...

. Henry's 31 points was four short of the KU record for points scored by a freshman set by KU legend

Danny Manning Daniel Ricardo Manning (born May 17, 1966) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the Associate Head Mens Basketball Coach at the University of Louisville. Manning played high school basketball at Walter Hin ...

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" ,

, 36 , , 36 , , 27.5 , , .458 , , .418 , , .783 , , 4.4 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 13.4

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2010–2012)

On April 7, 2010, Henry announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and enter the

, where he was expected to be a first-round selection. On June 24, Henry was selected 12th overall in the 2010 NBA draft by the

New Orleans Hornets (2012–2013)

On January 4, 2012, Henry was acquired by

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

as a part of a three-team trade that sent

Marreese Speights Marreese Akeem Speights (born August 4, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, where he w ...

and two future second-round picks to the

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 ...

. Henry was assigned to the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

on March 17, 2012 and recalled on March 19.

Los Angeles Lakers (2013–2014)

On September 5, 2013, Henry signed with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. In his debut on October 29, 2013, he led the Lakers to a 116–103 victory over the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

while scoring a career-high 22 points. On February 27, 2014, he was assigned to the

Los Angeles D-Fenders LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

of the

. On March 2, 2014, he was recalled by the Lakers. On April 11, 2014, Henry underwent surgery to repair both a torn ligament in his left wrist and a cartilage abnormality in his right knee. On July 25, 2014, Henry re-signed with the Lakers to a reported one-year, $1 million contract. On October 18, 2014, Henry's agents announced that he would be seeking a second opinion following his April 11 knee surgery and traveling to Germany for Regenokine treatment. On November 15, 2014, he was reassigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders. He was recalled the next day. On November 22, he was reassigned to D-Fenders and again recalled a day later. On November 24, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after an MRI revealed a ruptured left

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

that he suffered at practice. On December 28, 2014, he was waived by the Lakers.

Santa Cruz Warriors (2015–2016)

On October 19, 2015, Henry signed with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. He was waived just four days later. On November 2, he was acquired by the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior t ...

of the

as an affiliate player of Golden State. On February 19, 2016, he made his debut for Santa Cruz in a 116–100 loss to the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

, recording 14 points, four rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 16 minutes.

Oklahoma City Blue (2016–2017)

On September 12, 2016, Henry signed with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, but was later waived by the team on September 23 prior to training camp. On November 3, he was acquired by the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as ...

of the NBA Development League (now renamed the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 38 , , 16 , , 13.9 , , .406 , , .118 , , .635 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 45 , , 0 , , 16.9 , , .395 , , .412 , , .612 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 50 , , 2 , , 12.5 , , .410 , , .364 , , .630 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, 43 , , 5 , , 21.1 , , .417 , , .346 , , .655 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 0 , , 9.6 , , .231 , , .000 , , .583 , , .4 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 185 , , 23 , , 15.7 , , .406 , , .325 , , .635 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.7

Personal life

Henry is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Henry has spoken about his faith saying, "I understand the world is not all about me. I want to lead people to

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, do the best I can and make life worthwhile. Life is about other things. It's helping people out and being a servant to everybody else." Henry was born in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where his father played professional basketball in the early 1990s.Jenni Carlson.
Xavier Henry has plenty of reasons to keep smiling
. NewsOK.com. March 6, 2008. Retrieved on April 4, 2009. His older brother,

C. J. Henry Carl Joshua Henry, Jr. (born May 31, 1986) is an American former basketball and professional baseball player. Henry played in minor league baseball, minor and independent baseball and in college for the Southern Nazarene University men's basketb ...

, was picked with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2005

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

first-year player draft. After struggling with baseball, C. J. went to college and returned to basketball.

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Xavier 1991 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Oklahoma Iowa Energy players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Los Angeles Lakers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies draft picks Memphis Grizzlies players New Orleans Hornets players Oklahoma City Blue players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Santa Cruz Warriors players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Ghent Sportspeople from Oklahoma City 21st-century African-American sportspeople