Players coming out of the Red-West section of the Chicago Public League don’t survive unless they have confidence. Weakness is pounced upon early and spit out to the curbside.
So it shouldn’t surprise too many people that Cordell Henry–pride of Whitney Young High School–is playing with a lot of confidence these days as he leads Marquette to heights not seen in Milwaukee in 23 years (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
Seniors are supposed to take over when things get dicey, especially if the senior is the point guard. That’s exactly what Henry did Tuesday in Marquette’s 66-52 victory over Charlotte at the Bradley Center.
Henry scored 19 of his game-high 22 points in the second half as the ninth-ranked Golden Eagles (23-3, 12-1 in Conference USA) erased a three-point halftime deficit.
“Once you’re playing with confidence, you can’t lose it,” Henry said. “I have it and will use it the rest of the season.”
Henry had a little help to start the second half as the Golden Eagles–trailing 30-27–went on a 14-2 spurt to take control. Sophomore Dwyane Wade (14 points) had a pair of steals and drew a couple fouls as Charlotte (16-9, 10-4) turned the ball over on five straight possessions.
Then Henry took charge. He scored eight points during a 23-4 run and closed the game by scoring the last eight.
“The smallest player on the court took over the game,” Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said of the 5-foot-10-inch Henry. “He was a dominant factor in the game, without question.”
Not only did Henry provide the offensive spark but defensively he shut down Charlotte sharpshooter Jobey Thomas.
Thomas came into the game averaging more than 20 points in Conference USA play. Tuesday he was held to 15 on just 5-of-13 shooting.
“Cordell’s job on Jobey Thomas was phenomenal,” Marquette coach Tom Crean said. “He doesn’t get enough credit nationally; he has been shutting down the opponent’s stars all season.”
The victory sets up a Friday showdown at Cincinnati, which beat DePaul on Tuesday night, for the lead in the American Division of the conference.
In his third year at the helm, Crean has the campus buzzing about basketball. Saturday’s victory over Louisville attracted the largest crowd ever–18,753–to see a college basketball game in the state of Wisconsin. While Tuesday’s crowd of 15,371 didn’t match the number, Crean said it certainly matched the volume.
“Our crowd was as loud as I’ve ever heard it,” he said.
It has been a while since Marquette fans have had something to scream about–23 years to the day to be exact. That was the last time Marquette was ranked in the Top 10.
“[The ranking] means a lot for everybody, for the school, the city and the state,” Crean said. “The kids should be proud of that. But they don’t seem to be too caught up in it.”
