Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson has placed high expectations upon himself entering his rookie season, and his head coach believes that he can live up to them on and off the court.
Henderson is projected to be one of the top point guards in the NBA and recently anointed himself as the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year. He was also chosen, alongside teammate Shaedon Sharpe, as one of the top duos under 25 in the league.
The third pick dazzled during his lone appearance in the NBA Summer League, and showed why he was so highly touted entering the draft. Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, speaking with Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, also has high expectations for Henderson.
Scoot is going to be a star in this league. He plays both sides of the floor with ferocity. He is very, very driven. He’s a playmaker, he’s a real point guard. Got some leadership about him. He looks like he’s the starting safety of the Denver Broncos. He’s going to be an exciting player for the whole world to watch but our fan base, they can rest assured they’ll be entertained.
Henderson produced 15 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Houston Rockets in his summer league debut. He showed off his dynamic scoring ability in that contest and his ability to run the offense prior to suffering a shoulder injury.
He projects to have the opportunity to log significant playing time and could eventually be in charge of the offense, depending on the future of Damian Lillard. In other words: Henderson will have the opportunity to prove himself from opening night.
With plenty of hype surrounding Henderson’s upcoming rookie campaign, Billups and the Trail Blazers will soon get their first look at him when the team opens up the preseason on Oct. 10.
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