Before every home game, Gerald Henderson and the No. 1 Blue Devils stretch their calves on press row in front of the Cameron Crazies, and recently, Henderson has noticed that the students' cheer for him is "G can fly."
So now, after he dunks, the junior extends his arms as if he's soaring across the court, only bothering to ground himself into a defensive stance.
None of Virginia's players could bring Henderson back down to earth in the first half Sunday as Duke rebounded from its first ACC loss with a 79-54 rout of the Cavaliers in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
For the sixth time in seven games, Henderson led Duke scorers with 18 points, including 16 in the first half. The forward is averaging 19.2 points per game in ACC play for the Blue Devils (19-2, 6-1 in the ACC), and he's notched more than 15 points in 10 of his last 11 games.
Henderson's gaudy outputs of late contrast starkly from his production early in his career. In his freshman year, he played his best game at home against North Carolina, but only managed to tally 14 points. He began to emerge last year, averaging 12.7 points per game, but after a slow start to his junior year, he has finally started to fulfill some of the lofty expectations others imposed on him.
"It comes with growth," Henderson said. "In games like Carolina my freshman year, Coach, talking to him after a game, he said, 'I feel like you should play like that all the time.' And I'm agreeing with him, but it's like, I've never played that well. I'm hitting all my shots, I'm getting eight rebounds-I've never played like that. But he's right. Part of the reason I came to Duke was Coach K's vision for me as a player."
What exactly was Mike Krzyzewski's vision that lured the five-star recruit to Durham?
"A lot of things," Henderson said. "But more playing like I am now. I still have a lot to grow with, but his vision for me was playing more like I am now. I feel like I'm on my way to becoming what he envisioned me to be."
And Henderson looked especially comfortable with his new role as the team's star early against Virginia (7-10, 1-5).
He started the contest by swishing a three from the top of the key, and it was clear that he was far from done. He canned a pull-up jumper from the baseline about a minute later, but he saved his best for the span between the second and third media timeouts.
At the 11:50 mark in the first, Henderson sunk two free throws. Then, a 3-pointer from the corner, raising his 3-point clip to a team-high 45.3 percent.
After a fast-break layup from Nolan Smith prompted Virginia head coach Dave Leitao to call a timeout, Henderson went to the line again and buried two more free throws. On the ensuing possession, he stepped into a passing lane, picked off a lazy pass, threw it in front of him and slammed home a dunk to push Duke's lead to 30-11 just 10 minutes into the game.
Henderson glided back, his wings extended as the Crazies serenaded him with cheers, even though they were completely unaware that back pain had been hampering Henderson all afternoon. A grueling defensive practice Friday left Henderson and Smith, Duke's two leading scorers, with some lingering back problems.
"You could tell that he wasn't normal, but he got 18 points, four assists and played well," Krzyzewski said of Henderson.
It was the type of game that Henderson would have dreamed about two years ago, and would have been a worthwhile effort as a sophomore. But it's becoming more commonplace for Henderson as a junior, as is the increasingly familiar sight of his arms levitating just seconds after he lifts off for a dunk.
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