Brother Rice’s Ahmad Henderson sees transfer from Niagara to UIC as a homecoming. ‘Kind of finish what I started.’

Ahmad Henderson could not be more excited about being back in Chicago.

Henderson, who was one of the Catholic League’s biggest basketball stars during his career at Brother Rice, has transferred to Illinois-Chicago after spending his freshman season at Niagara.

“It’s amazing being able to come back home and kind of finish what I started almost,” he said. “Being close to my family, they can come to all my games. You’ll probably see me at some Brother Rice games, too.

“After spending a year away, it just feels great to be back.”

It was a successful transition to college basketball for Henderson, a 5-foot-9 guard who is headed into his sophomore year.

He played in all 32 games in his lone season at Niagara — a Division I program that competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — and started 26 times.

Henderson, who averaged 11.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists, was named to the MAAC’s all-rookie team.

In just the second game of his career, Henderson poured in 28 points on Nov. 11, 2023 in a 73-64 loss to Bucknell. That remains his career high.

Niagara finished 16-16 and Henderson was the team’s second-leading scorer.

“There were some ups and downs, but I still had a good year,” Henderson said. “I learned a lot and I was able to have a successful season offensively, for sure.”

Henderson was not necessarily looking to leave Niagara, but the possibility of playing closer to home remained in the back of his head.

In April, Niagara associate head coach Kevin Devitt left to join the staff at Illinois-Chicago under new Flames head coach Rob Ehsan.

It presented an opportunity that Henderson found too good to pass up.

“Coach Devitt and I go back a few years now,” Henderson said. “He started recruiting me when I was a junior at Brother Rice, and we built a strong relationship. When he took the job at UIC, it just seemed like a great situation to be able to stick with him and be able to come back home.

“It felt perfect.”

Ehsan, who spent the last three years as associate head coach at Stanford, is equally excited about having Henderson as one of the key pieces of his first team at Illinois-Chicago.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ahmad back home to Chicago,” Ehsan said in a press release announcing Henderson’s addition. “He is a quick, versatile scoring guard with a great shooting touch. He can also really distribute the basketball, and we love his defensive toughness.

“Last year, he rose to the occasion with some big games against big opponents, leading to a spot on the MAAC all-rookie team, and we think he’s just scratching the surface of his potential at the college level.”

Henderson said the biggest challenge in the transition to college basketball was the grind of playing a longer season, practicing more often and balancing it all with college classes.

“The intensity of every game and every practice, that’s a big difference,” Henderson said. “It starts to take a toll on you as the season goes on. On and off the court, there are just a lot more commitments compared to high school and a lot more time you have to put in.”

But Henderson certainly feels more prepared for all that now. And he’s more comfortable on the court.

“I think that my game is more balanced,” he said. “When I first got to college, I was trying to go so fast all the time and just trying not to mess up. Now I just have more confidence to just go out there, take my time and just play my game.”

Henderson had hoped to play at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena in high school as the Flames hosted supersectional games. In Henderson’s senior year in 2022-23, the Crusaders fell just one win short of that round.

“I’ve been here to watch some high school games, but I never got to play here,” Henderson said. “I’m excited to get to play a lot of games on this court now.”

Originally Published: August 4, 2024 at 4:16 p.m.