Kansas State University Athletics
SE: How a ‘Crossroads’ Led Jermaine Henderson to K-State, Back to the Coaching
May 20, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
It was the summer of 2017 and Jermaine Henderson was at what he now calls a "crossroads." He had just finished his 20th season as an assistant basketball coach, including his second at Cleveland State.
And he took the summer off.
"I wouldn't say I didn't know if I wanted to coach," he said, "but I wanted to be sure I was in the right place to coach."
So, he reassessed a lot. What he wanted in a program. What he could give a program. How he could grow to give more.
Henderson turned down jobs and opportunities he didn't feel like hit those marks. He had "doors slammed in his face" on some he felt like might, something he's appreciative of now. It opened the door to K-State that summer, when he got a call from his old colleague at Missouri State, now-Wildcat assistant coach Brad Korn, with an opportunity.
Albeit, a different one.
K-State's Director of Player Development position was open at the time. An off-the-court position, Henderson knew it would be a change from his passion to coach. A trip to Manhattan, however, erased any hesitation.
"Once I got there, I knew," he said. "Once I was around the players, I knew it was the best place for me, especially at that particular time in my career and in my life."
Henderson specifically remembers being in the basketball offices for his in-person interview. Barry Brown, Jr. walked in and welcomed Henderson like he had "known me for two years." The two just talked. The interaction said more than either of them for Henderson.
"You always think when you're a coach, 'Where can I be successful?' And then, 'How can I be successful?' Those questions were answered very easily," he said. "I think here, because a culture was in place, a culture of winning and a culture of people development — we say player development on the floor but it's people development — you can see that. The things that I thought I brought to the table could be beneficial as well."
Henderson accepted the job, and it marked a milestone moment in his coaching career. He didn't know where it would lead, except to personal growth.
"There's been some successful moments in my career but there's also been some valleys," he said. "We try to learn from the peaks and the valleys but coming here was very easy to do because of the people, because of the place, the tradition, and then you just fall in love with everything that Coach (Bruce) Weber and his staff have built."
Last Friday, Weber announced Henderson's promotion to an assistant coach role to replace Chester Frazier. It marked another peak in Henderson's career, one he never had in mind when he came to K-State two summers back. But it's one he's extremely excited and prepared for, as much because of the valleys in his career as the peaks.
"Those valleys for me have made me the man I am," Henderson said. "They put you in a position where you reassess what you want and how you want it. I think getting that chance to be director of player development here helped me see that, helped me visualize this opportunity that I have here, certainly not ever thinking that it would turn into an assistant coaching job"
Before K-State, all Henderson knew was life as an assistant coach.
He started as a volunteer coach in 1997-98 at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio) University, after he played four years and finished as a co-captain on the RedHawks' 1997 NCAA Tournament team. In the 1998-99 season, he was moved up to a full-time position and helped coach a Miami team with Wally Szczerbiak on it to the Sweet 16 — still the program's furthest NCAA Tournament run since it expanded to 64 teams.
"At 23 years old, I thought getting to the Sweet 16 was pretty easy. Certainly, that was a peak," Henderson said. "But (two years) after that we were .500, and that represented a valley."
The ups and downs kept coming.
Miami finished third or better in the MAC nine times in Henderson's last 10 years on staff, including a championship in 2004-05, but made only one NCAA Tournament (2007) in that span. Life in traditionally a one-bid league can be cruel.
When head coach Charlie Coles retired in 2012, Henderson interviewed for the position but did not get it.
"That puts you in a valley," Henderson said, who spent three seasons (2012-15) under Paul Lusk at Missouri State, where he met Korn, before going back to his home state to coach at Cleveland State.
When his boss, Gary Waters, at Cleveland State retired in 2017 after Henderson's second year with the program, it left him wondering where that left him.
"There again, a valley," Henderson said. "Not that it gets you to a point where you want to stop, because you never want to stop, but you do have to reassess, re-evaluate."
All of it shaped what Henderson called his "core values," which include "being able to do your job with a level of impeccable integrity," "hard work," playing with a "never-say-die energy," and treating people the right way.
This process of highs and lows also led Henderson to K-State, where a non-coaching opportunity became much more than what he imagined it would be coming in.
Henderson said Weber made sure he was involved in everything he could be, from late-night meetings, film sessions and interacting with players as much as possible. He built strong relationships up and down the roster through the moments off the court, which he said should be "everything" in terms of making a smooth transition to his new role with the team.
All of it helped lessen the itch to coach again. Henderson knew he was at the right place. In time, it opened up an opportunity to return to his passion of leading men on and off the court.
He feels more equipped to do so, too.
"I don't know if I've had a two-year span in my career where I've grown this much," he said.
His energy lately has been at an all-time high as well.
"I'm more excited than I remember being as a 22-year-old," he said. "I've had trouble sleeping at night. I've had ideas of what to do, how we can recruit, how I can help our model be better, but at the same time there's a lot of respect for what the guys are doing now, the model that is in place, the way we've recruited and developed guys.
"I'm eager to touch all facets of the program, but I think that is the epitome of coaching, when you're able to get out there and run and jump and shout and encourage the guys every day. I don't think there's anything else like it. When you can do it at a special place, that makes it even more special."
It was the summer of 2017 and Jermaine Henderson was at what he now calls a "crossroads." He had just finished his 20th season as an assistant basketball coach, including his second at Cleveland State.
And he took the summer off.
"I wouldn't say I didn't know if I wanted to coach," he said, "but I wanted to be sure I was in the right place to coach."
So, he reassessed a lot. What he wanted in a program. What he could give a program. How he could grow to give more.
Henderson turned down jobs and opportunities he didn't feel like hit those marks. He had "doors slammed in his face" on some he felt like might, something he's appreciative of now. It opened the door to K-State that summer, when he got a call from his old colleague at Missouri State, now-Wildcat assistant coach Brad Korn, with an opportunity.
Albeit, a different one.
K-State's Director of Player Development position was open at the time. An off-the-court position, Henderson knew it would be a change from his passion to coach. A trip to Manhattan, however, erased any hesitation.
"Once I got there, I knew," he said. "Once I was around the players, I knew it was the best place for me, especially at that particular time in my career and in my life."
Henderson specifically remembers being in the basketball offices for his in-person interview. Barry Brown, Jr. walked in and welcomed Henderson like he had "known me for two years." The two just talked. The interaction said more than either of them for Henderson.
"You always think when you're a coach, 'Where can I be successful?' And then, 'How can I be successful?' Those questions were answered very easily," he said. "I think here, because a culture was in place, a culture of winning and a culture of people development — we say player development on the floor but it's people development — you can see that. The things that I thought I brought to the table could be beneficial as well."
Henderson accepted the job, and it marked a milestone moment in his coaching career. He didn't know where it would lead, except to personal growth.
"There's been some successful moments in my career but there's also been some valleys," he said. "We try to learn from the peaks and the valleys but coming here was very easy to do because of the people, because of the place, the tradition, and then you just fall in love with everything that Coach (Bruce) Weber and his staff have built."
Last Friday, Weber announced Henderson's promotion to an assistant coach role to replace Chester Frazier. It marked another peak in Henderson's career, one he never had in mind when he came to K-State two summers back. But it's one he's extremely excited and prepared for, as much because of the valleys in his career as the peaks.
"Those valleys for me have made me the man I am," Henderson said. "They put you in a position where you reassess what you want and how you want it. I think getting that chance to be director of player development here helped me see that, helped me visualize this opportunity that I have here, certainly not ever thinking that it would turn into an assistant coaching job"
Before K-State, all Henderson knew was life as an assistant coach.
He started as a volunteer coach in 1997-98 at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio) University, after he played four years and finished as a co-captain on the RedHawks' 1997 NCAA Tournament team. In the 1998-99 season, he was moved up to a full-time position and helped coach a Miami team with Wally Szczerbiak on it to the Sweet 16 — still the program's furthest NCAA Tournament run since it expanded to 64 teams.
"At 23 years old, I thought getting to the Sweet 16 was pretty easy. Certainly, that was a peak," Henderson said. "But (two years) after that we were .500, and that represented a valley."
The ups and downs kept coming.
Miami finished third or better in the MAC nine times in Henderson's last 10 years on staff, including a championship in 2004-05, but made only one NCAA Tournament (2007) in that span. Life in traditionally a one-bid league can be cruel.
When head coach Charlie Coles retired in 2012, Henderson interviewed for the position but did not get it.
"That puts you in a valley," Henderson said, who spent three seasons (2012-15) under Paul Lusk at Missouri State, where he met Korn, before going back to his home state to coach at Cleveland State.
When his boss, Gary Waters, at Cleveland State retired in 2017 after Henderson's second year with the program, it left him wondering where that left him.
"There again, a valley," Henderson said. "Not that it gets you to a point where you want to stop, because you never want to stop, but you do have to reassess, re-evaluate."
All of it shaped what Henderson called his "core values," which include "being able to do your job with a level of impeccable integrity," "hard work," playing with a "never-say-die energy," and treating people the right way.
This process of highs and lows also led Henderson to K-State, where a non-coaching opportunity became much more than what he imagined it would be coming in.
Henderson said Weber made sure he was involved in everything he could be, from late-night meetings, film sessions and interacting with players as much as possible. He built strong relationships up and down the roster through the moments off the court, which he said should be "everything" in terms of making a smooth transition to his new role with the team.
All of it helped lessen the itch to coach again. Henderson knew he was at the right place. In time, it opened up an opportunity to return to his passion of leading men on and off the court.
He feels more equipped to do so, too.
"I don't know if I've had a two-year span in my career where I've grown this much," he said.
His energy lately has been at an all-time high as well.
"I'm more excited than I remember being as a 22-year-old," he said. "I've had trouble sleeping at night. I've had ideas of what to do, how we can recruit, how I can help our model be better, but at the same time there's a lot of respect for what the guys are doing now, the model that is in place, the way we've recruited and developed guys.
"I'm eager to touch all facets of the program, but I think that is the epitome of coaching, when you're able to get out there and run and jump and shout and encourage the guys every day. I don't think there's anything else like it. When you can do it at a special place, that makes it even more special."
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