Ira Cronin NewsChannel 36 Sports

I just got back from the NBA draft headquarters of the Charlotte Bobcats and listened to Michael Jordan and Larry Brown talk about their 12th pick in the NBA draft, Gerald Henderson. It was totally funny to me that the first words out of Larry Brown's mouth was that he was "real happy about the pick, but did have a hard time drafting a Dukie."

Anyone who is serious about their college school takes their rivalries seriously, but especially in Chapel Hill and Durham, but as Larry also pointed out the NBA is a business and if Henderson helps the Bobcats win, no one will care what college he played for.

The thing I noticed about Henderson most when I have seen him play is that he is a freak of an athlete and the chance that he can be mentored by a professional like Raja Bell I think will give him yet another leg up in his journey as a pro. Don't forget Gerald's father also played in the league which will also help the younger Henderson on his way.

I was impressed when Jordan talked about the fact that Henderson is a player who works on his deficiencies. Jordan mentioned that when in college the knock on Henderson was that he couldn't dribble to his left, he began to develop the ability to dribble to his left. Sounds a little like a guy who was criticized early in his professional career for not being able to defend, and then was named the defensive MVP of the league.

In the end, like Larry pointed out the Charlotte Bobcats represent all of the Carolina's which means that Gerald Henderson should be right at home.

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