Isaiah Henderson, a sophomore guard for Siena men’s basketball, actually contributed to a conference championship-winning season last year. But here’s the absolute kicker: the dude didn’t even step on the court in the two biggest games of the year. Seriously. He was benched for both the league title victory over Merrimack and the NCAA Tournament first-round loss against Duke. His then-coach, Gerry McNamara, leaned hard on his starters, leaving Henderson on the sideline for the moments he craved. “It just adds fuel to the fire,” Henderson said recently, and you can practically hear the grit in that quote. “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.”
The Championship Run Where He Didn’t Play a Second
Think about that for a second. Your team reaches the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010, you win a championship, and you’re watching from the pine when it all goes down. Henderson averaged 3.8 points and shot 30.4% from 3-point range in 28 games with one start as a freshman. He had flashes, like hitting a pair of 3-pointers coming off the bench in the first half of a semifinal victory over Fairfield in the conference tournament. That’s real impact! But that was it. That was his last action of the entire season. McNamara didn’t make a substitution in the second half against Fairfield, used only one freshman off the bench in the title game, and practically played his starters 40 minutes in the Duke upset attempt. Coach McNamara said he stuck with the starters because they “could give us the best chance,” but he also admitted Henderson “changed the Fairfield game” for them. Talk about a tough pill to swallow when you’re contributing, but not when it matters most.
New Coach, New System, Old Faces
Fast forward to now, and everything has changed. Coach McNamara got hired by Syracuse last March, and get this: three of Henderson’s former teammates, Gavin Doty, Francis Folefac, and Tasman Goodrick, transferred to Syracuse to keep playing for him. But Henderson? He stayed in Loudonville. He’s one of only four returning scholarship players for new coach Nevada Smith, who is absolutely gushing about him. “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.” Smith runs an up-tempo style, and Henderson’s adapting his game to it. He showed flashes as a scorer last season, but he’s explicitly trying to improve as a rebounder and defender, bringing more consistent effort.
Sunday Showdown: Banners, Battles, and Benches
Siena is going to unfurl that championship banner before Sunday’s exhibition game. That’s a huge moment for the program. But for Henderson, the real stakes are on the court. He gets to face his old coach, Gerry McNamara, and those former teammates when Siena takes on Syracuse at 2 p.m. at MVP Arena. After the frustration of sitting out those ‘big moments’ and watching teammates follow his old coach, Henderson gets a shot to show everyone exactly what he’s made of in this new offense. “I feel very confident about this year with the guys that we have,” Henderson said. You know he’s going to be playing with that “fuel to the fire” mentality, ready to prove he belongs in those crucial moments this season. Keep an eye on Zay, because he’s got something to prove.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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