Troy Henderson attacked his first five-on-zero workout like Tennessee was playing a game.
After spending the offseason watching, the sophomore guard wasn’t particularly interested in easing himself back into basketball.
“When Chad (Newman, Tennessee’s Athletic Trainer) gave me the go-ahead at five-on-zero, it was just like I’m about to play a game,” Henderson said. “I was very excited, and I just attacked that five-on-zero like it was a real game.”
Henderson is nearing his full return after undergoing offseason surgery on his left shoulder. An injury that first caused him to miss two games during his freshman season and continued bothering him late in the year.
Now, the guard who spent the summer unable to compete believes the time away has changed the way he sees the game.
“Coming back for year two, it slowed down,” Henderson said. “I’m thinking the game more, and I’m just taking one day at a time.”
Henderson appeared in 28 games as a freshman, averaging 6.9 minutes. He finished with 49 points and 29 assists against just seven turnovers.
His best moments offered glimpses of what he could become.
Henderson played a career-high 22 minutes in Tennessee’s double-overtime win over Texas A&M, scoring eight points and hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer late in regulation.
His shoulder complicated the second half of the season.
Henderson missed games at Alabama and Georgia after injuring his left shoulder in practice. He later aggravated the shoulder against Vanderbilt but elected to continue playing through the end of Tennessee’s season before undergoing surgery.
That meant much of his offseason was spent rehabilitating rather than competing.
Rick Barnes said in June that Henderson was ahead of schedule in his recovery and Tennessee was occasionally having to slow him down.
Henderson felt the same impatience.
“Just attacking that physical therapy, attacking every day,” Henderson said. “So just to hear that good news of I’m ahead of schedule, that was a blessing.”
The setback also presented Henderson with a different challenge.
Tennessee returned only Henderson and DeWayne Brown II from last season’s roster. Henderson couldn’t lead the Vols’ newcomers by competing alongside them, so he found another way.
“I know what those guys are going through every day. I’ve been through it,” Henderson said. “I can’t get out there and compete with them, so I just try to be that voice and just try to pick them up.”
Assistant coach Amorrow Morgan has noticed the difference.
Morgan described Henderson as someone “chomping at the bit” to return. More importantly, he has seen a more vocal and mature player.
“When you hear him on the sideline, he’s loud, he’s talking, he’s enthusiastic,” Morgan said. “He’s ready to try to impact the game and be someone that can help us win this year.”
Henderson has maintained some of the personality his teammates saw last season.
Morgan called him hilarious. Freshman Manny Green said Henderson’s personality helps keep the team’s spirits up during Tennessee’s demanding practices.
Henderson doesn’t consider that part of his leadership particularly calculated.
“That’s just my personality,” Henderson said. “I just try to keep the morale high and just energy high.”
But other parts of his development have been more deliberate.
Watching from the sideline gave Henderson an opportunity to process basketball differently. He said he has become better at recognizing angles and attacking gaps, areas Barnes has emphasized.
Morgan believes Henderson has also learned that succeeding at Tennessee requires more than offensive skill.
“As a freshman, I think he learned just how hard it is to have success at this level,” Morgan said. “It’s not just about the skill and feel that he possesses because he’s a really good offensive player, but he’s understanding now that he has to be a little bit more gritty.”
That perspective could become increasingly important as Henderson returns to a dramatically different Tennessee roster.
He isn’t trying to return as the same player who left the floor last season.
After an offseason spent rehabilitating, watching and leading from the sideline, Henderson believes the game is beginning to slow down.
Now, he’s getting closer to having the chance to show it.
