MORGANTOWN -
West Virginia University freshman guard Terry Henderson is
not playing at the same level as he did prior to suffering a lower back injury
earlier this month.
Henderson scored 10 points in 20 minutes against Kansas
State prior to the injury. He did not travel to Iowa State and also did not
play at Purdue despite making that trip.
Head Coach Bob Huggins said Henderson did not do well in the
final practice and shootaround prior to the Purdue game and decided not to play
him.
Henderson has appeared in the Mountaineers last three games,
but his numbers are not even close to what they were prior to the injury. He logged 53 minutes in those three games, but made
just 3-of-15 shots from the field for a total of nine points.
Henderson was coming into his own at the Michigan game when
he scored a career-high 23 points. Beginning with that game and the six games
following it, Henderson made 26-of-54 field goals for a total of 77 points.
A sore lower back can definitely affect a shooter.
Successful shooters try to follow the same form and technique on every shot. If
there is pain in the process of jumping, than finding the same success when
shooting is going to be difficult. That appears to be the case for Henderson.
Henderson did not do the injury any favors when he leaped
for a rebound against Kansas on Monday. He got bumped while in the air and
landed right on that sore lower back. That happened in the first half. He did
not return to the game until the final minute when WVU desperately needed a
three-pointer.
Here are some more comparisons between Henderson before and
after the injury. He shot 37 percent from behind the three-point line in the
seven games before the injury. Henderson's three-point percentage dropped to 22
percent following the injury. He averaged 11 points per game prior to the
injury and just three points per game after the injury.
Henderson and fellow freshman Eron Harris were becoming West
Virginia's most reliable shooters. Henderson's productivity has clearly dropped
since the injury and Kansas did a good job of not letting Harris get into a
rhythm Monday night. Harris' only two points came from the free-throw line.
Henderson and Harris need to get back on track as WVU
continues to search for consistent scoring threats.
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