5-star Miami freshman is living up to the hype for Jai Lucas and Canes basketball

Even though football season is still going on with the Hurricanes gearing up for their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance, Miami basketball is also living up to the hype right now. Miami is now 10-2 on the season after a big win over FIU in which freshman Shelton Henderson totally balled out.

The former five-star recruit Shelton Henderson went off for 30 points against the Panthers and showed why he was such a huge pick-up for the Hurricanes. Henderson has been a key starter for Miami in all 12 games this season, proving to Jai Lucas why he is so important to this team. Before picking the Hurricanes, Henderson was committed to Duke, but then chose to flip to Miami when former Duke assistant coach Lucas took over the program.

Miami was able to reap the benfits Shelton Henderson from Duke

When Miami brought in Jai Lucas to be the head coach for the Hurricanes, it made sense that he was going to be a great coach, coming from a basketball blue blood like Duke. It was even better when he was able to bring five-star Henderson with him.

So far this season, Henderson has averaged 13.2 points a game for the Hurricanes, shooting 60% from the floor, but only 27.3% from beyond the three-point arc. On a team full of stars like transfers Malik Renuea and Tre Donaldson, Henderson has been able to make his presence known and show he was a needed member for this squad.

Henderson's performance against FIU felt like just the start for his young career at Miami. The Hurricanes will certainly be in a tough conference, playing in the ACC with teams like Duke and UNC, but they definitely can compete.

So far this season, Miami has only lost to No. 10 Florida and No. 9 BYU, and they will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves as the season goes on. Unfortunately, Lucas won't get to face his former squad and show off Henderson to the Blue Devils, but there is always time in the postseason for that.