Siena basketball's Isaiah Henderson craves 'big moments' in sophomore season

ALBANY – As a freshman, Siena men’s basketball’s Isaiah Henderson contributed to the Saints’ conference championship-winning season.

However, he never got on the court in the two biggest games of the year.

Henderson did not play in the league title victory over Merrimack or the NCAA Tournament first-round loss against Duke, as then-coach Gerry McNamara relied heavily on his starting five.

“It just adds fuel to the fire,” Henderson said recently. “I mean, I want to be out there in those big moments. I feel like I was ready to play, but, you know, just got to keep my head down and keep working.”

Henderson will see McNamara and three of his former teammates when Siena faces Syracuse in an exhibition game at 2 p.m. Sunday at MVP Arena. Syracuse hired McNamara last March and Saints players Gavin Doty, Francis Folefac and Tasman Goodrick transferred to the Orange to continue playing for him.

Henderson remained in Loudonville and is one of four returning scholarship players for new coach Nevada Smith, who said he’s impressed with how Henderson is adjusting his game to Smith’s up-tempo style.

“Zay’s been awesome,” Smith said. “He had an awesome summer. Shot the ball at a ridiculously high rate. He’s had a good fall. He’s really coachable. He makes a mistake one day, he corrects it. He’s done a great job of changing his game to adapt to us, which is not always easy for someone who’s played basketball as long as he has.”

Henderson, a 6-foot-6 guard from Painted Post, averaged 3.8 points and shot 30.4% from 3-point range in 28 games with one start last season as Siena reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Siena will unfurl the banner before Sunday’s game.

“I mean, it was a great feeling, definitely, your first year of playing college basketball and winning a championship,” Henderson said. “We definitely celebrated, but it was quick turnaround to March Madness, so we were trying to prepare for that and not be happy we were there.”

In the conference tournament in Atlantic City, Henderson came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half of a semifinal victory over Fairfield.

But that was his last action of the season. McNamara didn’t make a substitution in the second half against Fairfield, then used only freshman guard Christian Jones off the bench for six minutes against Merrimack in the title game. He played the starters for 40 minutes, except for a two-second cameo by Jones, in the near-upset of Duke.

After the season-ending loss, McNamara said he stuck with the starters because he felt they “could give us the best chance” based on matchups and the flow of the contest.

“I thought Zay Henderson changed the Fairfield game in Atlantic City for us,” McNamara said then. “Christian Jones won us multiple games. … They helped us a lot this year.”

After Smith was hired, Jones transferred to UMass Lowell. Meanwhile, Henderson opted to stay to help Siena defend its Metro title.

“I feel very confident about this year with the guys that we have,” Henderson said.

After showing flashes as a scorer last season, Henderson said he is trying to improve as a rebounder and defender while giving more consistent effort. He’s also finding his way in Smith’s offense that encourages players to shoot in the first five seconds of the shot clock.

“I would say, yeah, it’s different, because we’re more open to earlier shots,” Henderson said. “I mean, we’ll take the first good look. That’s the main difference. … I like that he just lets us play loose, play free and just play our game.”

Smith said Henderson is buying into Siena’s shot selection and defensive mentality. While Henderson wants to be on the court in big moments, Smith said he’s encouraged that Henderson is making a louder statement in the preseason.

“He wasn’t a big talker when I first got here,” Smith said. “He’s doing a great job of opening up to his teammates, being more vocal in practice, being more vocal in the locker room. That step, for me, is really important.”

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This article originally published at Siena basketball’s Isaiah Henderson craves ‘big moments’ in sophomore season.