Paradise Lost After two years as an NBA starter, Cedric Henderson warms the bench. by paul gerald Last we saw former University of Memphis star Cedric Henderson, he was having a great time. He started 90 percent of the time his first two seasons in the NBA, played 30 minutes per game, scored 10 points a night, and was loaded with promise. But now he has a new coach, and his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, traded for another forward. Suddenly he’s down to 16 minutes and 4.5 points a game. Henderson is too nice a guy to publicly bitch and moan about his situation, and he insists, “I still feel blessed just to be in the NBA.” But read between the lines — and there’s plenty of room between the lines — and you find a pretty frustrated young basketball player. Consider, for example, that new Cavs coach Randy Wittman traded this summer for small forward Lamond Murray, who got 12 points and four rebounds last year for the Los Angeles Clippers — the 9-41 Clippers, that is — and who lost his starting job to a rookie. Murray has been averaging 3.5 more points per game this year than Henderson did last year. Asked what Murray had that Henderson didn’t, Wittman says, “Well, you’re talking about a guy who was a former lottery pick and has been in the league several years.” But the best season Murray, taken 7th by the Clippers in 1994, ever had was 15 points and 6 rebounds per game in 1997-98, when the Clippers were 17-65. And yet Murray was brought in and given two-thirds of Henderson’s playing time. “There’s nothing I can do about that,” says Henderson. “That’s the head office’s decision. I guess they just wanted somebody else.” Wittman says Henderson started this season in a slump and has just recently started to come around. Asked about that slump, Henderson laughs and says, “No comment. It’s a business, man.” No doubt, some of his frustration comes from just being a Cavalier — a team which, through last weekend, was 16-21 and had lost 12 of their last 17 games. At this point in Henderson’s rookie season two years ago, the team was seven games over .500 and headed for the playoffs. This time last season they were a game over .500. But in the NBA, there’s The Game, and then there’s The Business. Henderson says he’s getting better at the game. “I’m seeing the court better, not making as many mistakes, hitting the weights, and I’ve still got my quickness.” But sometimes The Business doesn’t care about that. Many of the players in the NBA, especially the young ones, are one step from the door at all times — and Henderson knows that. “The toughest thing about the league,” Henderson says, “is staying in the league. You’ve got younger guys coming in every year, and you’ve got to roll with it, because once you make a mistake and somebody replaces you, it’s pretty much over with. And once you’re out, you’re out.” Although he doesn’t say it, Henderson — who signed a new contract with the Cavs last summer, just a few weeks after Murray came in — seems to know that one mistake a guy can make is to publicly bemoan his lack of playing time, and demand to play or be traded. Still, as he was walking to the team bus and making chit-chat with a reporter from Memphis, Henderson says, “If I had known how things would turn out, I might have made some different decisions.” Like what? “Like go to Seattle.” Asked about other former Tigers, he says he’s talked to some recently: Michael Wilson: “I just saw Mike last week when the Globetrotters came through Cleveland. He’s one of the main attractions in the show with that unique jumping style he’s got, and I think he’s really, really liking it.” Lorenzen Wright, who’s getting 16 minutes a game and hasn’t started once for the 13-22 Atlanta Hawks: “I think me and him are going through the same situation. We’ve both got new systems and new coaches, and we’re both trying to get back into the flow.” Chris Garner: “I heard he’s overseas somewhere.” (Garner’s playing in Lithuania.) David Vaughn: “I haven’t heard from him in two years.” (Vaughn’s playing in Greece.) Mingo Johnson: “I don’t know where he’s at. I thought he would [play pro] somewhere, because he’s a great shooter. But it takes a lot of sacrifices.” Cedric Henderson: “Up in Cleveland, playing for a paycheck. I don’t want it to sound that bad, but sometimes that’s what it is.” He’s got “a plain old condo” in Cleveland, just bought a house in Germantown, and spends most of his offseason in Memphis. Does he think he’ll be a Cavalier long? “That’s a good question.” Rip’s Reward Loyalty is not always a two-way street. “I’ve been the victim as an assistant coach, where my head was rolled out there to appease others. I am not going to do that to anybody. The toughest decision I would have to make would be to do nothing. That would put more pressure on me, but if that’s the best direction for our program, then I’m prepared to do that and take whatever responsibility comes with that.” — Rip Scherer The Memphis head football coach made that statement after the 1998 season. That year, Scherer’s fourth at the U of M, was not a good one for Tiger football. The team ended that season ranked 106th in total defense, 102nd in pass-efficiency defense, 107th in punt returns, and 81st in total offense. Most head coaches — if they were allowed to keep their job after such a disaster — would clean house. The offensive and defensive coordinators would be fired, along with their assistants. But Scherer stuck to his guns. He did reshuffle his staff, bringing in John Thompson and Mac McWhorter to be coordinators, but they filled vacant spots on the staff. Scherer didn’t fire a single assistant coach after the ’98 debacle. After the 1999 season, in which Scherer’s contract was extended and the team won five game (and lost three games by a total of 8 points), things seemed to be looking up. Scherer was expecting to have his most successful recruiting class since he arrived in Memphis in 1995. But the bottom fell out as one coach after another — Thompson, Rusty Burns, David Lockwood, McWhorter, Tim Pendergast, and Jim Pletcher — left the staff. Six out of nine coaches, two-thirds. The last coach to leave is the most puzzling. Pletcher came to Memphis with Scherer from James Madison University. He was the defensive coordinator for the first four years of the Scherer era. Hiring Pletcher (instead of, say, Keith Butler who knew the Tiger defense under Joe Lee Dunn and Tim Rose) is the biggest single mistake Scherer has made at the University of Memphis. He stuck with Pletcher. And how did Pletcher repay this loyalty? By ducking out on Scherer when he needed him most. Scherer is a tough task master, by any account. He likes to have his hands on every aspect of the team. He conducts endless meetings. This may have something to do with the mass exodus. Maybe Scherer can learn from this. Lighten up a bit. Then there’s this lesson, too. Loyalty don’t mean jack.