Nevada after 2020 forward

It almost been a year since 2020 forward Deandre Henry of Mountain Pointe (AZ) put down the football pads and traded them in for a basketball jersey.

The 6-foot-7 power forward has gone from unknown in basketball circles to picking up Division I scholarship offers from programs that made the NCAA tournament last season.

Nevada assistant coach Craig Neal recently reached out to offer him a scholarship and has made a very good impression so far.

“They’ve been telling me that I’m a priority for them and that they want to set up a visit,” Henry explained. “And that coach Neal will develop me into one of the top guys in college and I will become unstoppable.”

Nevada hit the ground running with Henry. They’ve been able to make a strong impression and create a bond.

“Me and coach Neal have already created a strong bond and it’s only been a few days,” he said.

Along with Nevada, Portland State, South Dakota, NAU, North Carolina A&T, Air Force, Northern Colorado, Montana State, Loyola Marymount, Loyola-Chicago, Cornell and more are recruiting him.

He continues to add schools everyday and will remain open in his recruitment.

“Right now my recruitment is wide open,” he said. “I’m looking for the best fit for me and my family, academically and sports wise. I’m going to start taking visits to colleges and getting to see the campuses, coaching staffs and see what’s best.”

Coaches that have seen him play have all been intrigued by his game. He’s an emerging prospect with very good qualities on the floor coaches tell him.

“Coaches love my work ethic and passion on and off the court,” he said. “They can see that I love playing basketball and every time I take the court, it’s business.”

He continued by saying, “they love my soft touch, patience, passing, defense and for sure my love for rebounding the ball at a high level.”

You can credit a lot of his tenacity and work ethic on the floor to football. He’s always been this freak of nature in the weight room, so the transition wasn’t hard for him.

“Football definitely plays a big role in my physicality on the court and my footwork for sure,” he said. “It helped me stay light on my feet and gave me an advantage in body structure because of the weight room.”

“I love the weight room and football was nothing but weights and practice. So it played a good role in some of my basketball skills.”

Right now, Henry is being patient with the process. He plans on taking a visit to Nevada very soon but hasn’t set that visit up yet. More schools are about to put out offers to him as well, so expect him to speak to them about potential visits.