Danny Henderson didn't let his seniors be satisfied with just one Texas 5A state title.
Photo by Keith Owens
Danny Henderson loves a good challenge. And picking up logs.
That's why the MaxPreps 2011-12 Boys Basketball Coach of the Year left the cozy, familiar confines of small 2A Texas basketball at Peaster in 2009 to tackle the vast and scary world of 5A Texas hoops at
Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas).
Henderson changed the culture at Marcus with a
direct and defensive approach.
Photo by Alik McIntosh
Henderson had won two state titles at
Peaster (Texas) and averaged more than 25 wins per year over 16 seasons.
"I had no real reason to leave," Henderson said. "We had it going on for sure. But sometimes you just feel like a change. For me personally, I wanted a new challenge."
He thought the players at Marcus needed a little push too. They had won 19 games the previous season but Henderson immediately raised the bar.
"The first meeting I had with the players, I pointed to the two or three district banners they had hanging in the gym," Henderson said. "I told them I didn't come here to win district titles. I came here to win state titles. Right then and there, we changed the culture."
Remarkably in his first season (2009-10), led largely by a trio of fearless sophomores, the Marauders won 37 games and made it all the way to the state semifinals, losing a 45-43 overtime game to eventual champion
Fort Bend Bush (Richmond).
"We were well below the radar that season," Henderson said.
Not so the following year, when Marcus went 38-1 and won the 5A title and finished No. 2 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.
"Euphoria," is how Henderson described winning the state crown. "Pure joy."
Henderson said winning the second title was much
tougher than the first.
Photo by Alik McIntosh
With the core back including the All-American backcourt of 6-foot-3
Marcus Smart and 5-11
Phil Forte, the proverbial target was etched on the back of every Marauder jersey heading into 2011-12.
"We were everyone's Super Bowl," Henderson said.
If that wasn't difficult enough, Henderson decided to make things even tougher, scheduling such national powers as
Yates (Houston),
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and
Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.).
"I believe you don't get stronger picking up sticks," is how Henderson put it. "You gotta pick up logs."
Utilizing the team's staple (tenacious defense), the experience and skill of three-year starters Smart, Forte and 5-11 guard
A.J. Luckey, the Marauders rolled such logs as Yates (80-67) and Montrose Christian (42-40) but lost a 47-39 game to Findlay Prep, which went on to win its third ESPN National High School Invitational Championship game in four years and finish 37-1.
"It was a winnable game," Henderson said of the loss to Findlay Prep. "We were up in the fourth quarter but missed five straight free throws. It's OK though. We learned."
As they did from their other loss, 56-53 to conference rival
Richland (North Richland Hills) (27-4) on Dec. 29.
After playing a national nonleague schedule, three games on national TV, Henderson said the Marauders were flat and uninspired.
"That completely woke us up," he said. "Boy, after that we definitely got on track."
Henderson is closing in on 700 wins in his 25-year
coaching career.
Photo by Keith Owens
They finished out the season with 21 straight wins, including a 56-52 thriller over then No. 15
Fort Bend Travis (Richmond) in the finals. Fort Bend was led by the Harrison twins,
Andrew Harrison and
Aaron Harrison, ranked two of the top five juniors in the country.
Forte (24 points) sank six free throws down the stretch to ice it. Smart, a McDonald's All-American, added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The duo is headed to Oklahoma State.
The best friends led the Marauders to a 114-6 record over three seasons. They finished 39-2 and
No. 2 nationally for the second year in a row. The second title, Henderson said, was much tougher.
"If the first title was a celebration of sheer joy, this one was of sheer relief," Henderson said. "Anything less than another title this year would have been considered a failure.
"That's what made this all so very gratifying."
As for his own MaxPreps national award, Henderson said it was a complete collaborative effort. The 50-year-old is now 685-161 in his career, which started in 1988 at
Liberty Hill (Texas).
He called Smart, Forte and Lucky "as great a trio of winners as I've ever been around. Those kids are amazing. … We build everything around defense. It's not easy and it takes a special kind of kid to buy in wholeheartedly. These guys did. I consider myself very lucky to have coached them."
Henderson has now won back-to-back state titles twice in his career.
Photo by Keith Owens
