What an NCAA rule change might mean for junior hockey in Sask.
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Previously, WHL players were declared ineligible to play NCAA hockey in the U.S.
A Saskatoon-born point guard has a chance to shine on U.S. college basketball’s biggest stage.
Ja’Shon Henry is headed to the NCAA’s March Madness tournament with the Bradley University Braves.
“It is every basketball player’s dream,” he said Tuesday on The Green Zone. “Especially a kid from Saskatchewan, I never thought I would be here. I am still speechless about it.”
Henry was born and raised in Saskatoon and played for St. Joseph High School before heading to Notre Dame in Wilcox for his senior season.
Henry said he needed more exposure if he wanted to reach his goals.
“There was a new league, the National Preparatory Association (NPA), that Notre Dame was going to be a part of,” he said. “Staying in Saskatoon and playing in the league I was playing in was not going to help me in reaching my goal of becoming a NCAA Division 1 basketball player.”
Henry was a heavily recruited prospect out of high school, talking to multiple Division 1 schools.
He made an official recruiting visit to Bradley before accepting a scholarship to the university in Peoria, Ill.
In 28 games for the Braves, he has averaged 12.1 minutes, 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds a game.
Henry lost his father two years ago after a lengthy battle with cancer.
“Every game I tribute to him,” he said. “I write his initials on every pair of my shoes. I play every game for him.”
Bradley has a tough road to the championship as the 15th seed in the tournament’s East Region. The Braves open their tournament against the powerhouse Michigan State Spartans on Thursday.
Henry said the legacy of Bradley’s opponent is not lost on him or his teammates.
“It is a huge honour being able to play such a great team and a great coach,” he said of Michigan State bench boss Tom Izzo. “At the end of the day, it is just basketball. We are going to go and play our game and execute our game plan.”
The Braves clinched a spot in the tournament with a win over Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) title game on March 10.
It is the team’s first appearance in the tournament in 13 years.