From Duke to Delaware

For his 36th birthday, David Henderson got one of the best presents imaginable. On July 21, Delaware athletic director Edgar Johnson announced that Henderson would succeed Mike Brey as head men's basketball coach.

Brey, a former Duke assistant himself, was headed to Notre Dame to fill the vacancy left by another ACC alum returning home-North Carolina coach Matt Doherty.

Henderson was simply keeping with the "family" tradition of moving from a seat alongside Mike Krzyzewski on the Duke bench to taking first chair at the optimum opportunity. When the Blue Hens called, Krzyzewski counseled Henderson, and the timing and placement seemed right.

"I am very proud of David Henderson," Krzyzewski said in July. "I think he is absolutely perfect for Delaware and is ready to be a head coach. He did a fantastic job for me the last three years. He showed a toughness and a competitiveness that will serve him well as a head coach."

As the progenitor of a diverse and successful family tree, Henderson also represents one of four former Blue Devil players to take up the mantle of head coaching after a stint behind Krzyzewski at Duke.

A 1986 graduate, Henderson was a senior on the Blue Devils' first Krzyzewski-era Final Four squad. It was the beginning of a run in which Duke played in college basketball's final weekend seven out of 10 years. The 1986 squad, which Henderson co-captained, went 37-3 and lost 72-69 in the national title game against Louisville.

But Henderson was also around when times were tougher. His freshman year, the 1982-83 season, Duke was 11-17. A native of tiny Drewry, N.C., Henderson had grown up hearing stories and histories of successes at North Carolina and N.C. State. However, Henderson never regretted choosing the Blue Devils, whom he was drawn to specifically because of an immediate connection with Krzyzewski.

"The first year was humbling for us," Henderson said. "The first year was a learning year. In that one year, though, we formed a bond that lasted four years. To see the growth over a four-year period gave me a great appreciation for the program."

"I lost my mind," Henderson joked about his decision to try coaching. "During my year off, I became very passionate about the idea of coaching."

Working with Dawkins again was a big draw.

"Coach Henderson was a great teammate for four years, and he is a great friend," Dawkins said. "He was the best man at my wedding and is the godfather of my son."

And working together under Krzyzewski was, in a way, a chance to relive the four years the pair spent watching the program grow from a project to an institution.

"It was almost as if we were re-committing to the same university," Henderson said. "It was the same thing that happened when we were 18 years old."

After three years at Duke, though, the Delaware job came along, and as quickly as he had transitioned to his post as assistant coach, he was no longer ostensibly a Blue Devil, but rather a Blue Hen.

"I'm tied to Duke for life," Henderson said. "But [leaving] was not a hard decision. When you're preparing yourself for something, you take the best opportunity that comes."

Henderson is the first to admit, however, that being a head coach is much different from being an assistant.

"As a coach you have to manage all parts of the game," Henderson said. "Until you get in the driver's seat, you don't know. As an assistant you make suggestions; as a head coach, you make decisions."

The Blue Hens (13-9, 9-4 in the American East) are doing well in their first season under Henderson. The team lost 75 percent of its scoring to graduation last May, and 11 players on the roster are underclassmen. Still, Delaware has managed close games with Temple and St. Joseph's, among other strong programs.

"I've got a great group of young men working for me," Henderson said. "I have a very young team. We started off with a lot of close losses, but my kids always competed. We're competing at the top of our league, and this was supposed to be a rebuilding year."

Although he is comfortable in his new role, Henderson said he will always be grateful to Krzyzewski for giving him an opportunity to play and coach on the same storied floor. As Dawkins put it, Krzyzewski is the "common denominator" among his player-coaches, graduates of many different years, with many different experiences.

"Coach K built a sense of family for the program," Henderson said. "And it's real."