Kansas’ top recruit, Xavier Henry, might not play for the Jayhawks after all following an article by J. Brady McCollough in the Kansas City Star that upset the Henry family, according to the Associated Press. Henry picked the Jayhawks after seriously considering following coach John Calipari to Kentucky. Henry originally committed to Memphis while Calipari was coach — and his brother C.J. was a walk-on for the Tigers last season. McCullough’s article paints the Henry family as highly ambitious — to a fault.
Yet, while freshmen Thomas Robinson and Elijah Johnson are already on campus attending classes like most others around the country, the Henrys remain here. Carl says he encouraged Xavier to attend summer school.
“He doesn’t wanna go,” Carl says. “I said, ‘Well, you call Coach Self and tell him you don’t want to come.’ ”
Xavier says it’s nothing personal. He had to get his braces off and recently had root canals done on his front two teeth. Carl says it’s more that Xavier is not interested in attending class.
“If he didn’t have to go to college, he wouldn’t do it,” Carl says.
A month after signing with the Jayhawks, Carl says, the family looked into Xavier playing in Europe for a year.
“You don’t have to take any classes,” Xavier says.
According to the AP, Carl Henry is not happy with McCullough’s portrayal of the family. He said the kids’ mother was the only roadblock to Xavier and C.J. Henry attending Kentuckybecause she didn’t want to live in Kentucky. Apparently, that’s no longer a concern.
“The guy who wrote that story kind of betrayed my whole family and kind of made us look bad, like my kids are prima donnas, all I do is talk.” he said.
When Calipari left to be head coach at Kentucky, the brothers switched to Kansas, where their mother, father and aunt all played basketball. Carl Henry said they might have chosen to follow Calipari to his new school but that their mother did not want to live in Kentucky.
“She told coach Self she’s out of it. She don’t care where they go,” Henry said.
McCullough’s article appears to be a thinly veiled criticism of the Henry family. McCullough probably realized that he would ruffle the feathers of many Jayhawks — both longtime fans and freshly minted recruits. However, perhaps the most important element of the story is that McCullough’s article is true.
When pressed by the interviewers, the elder Henry said there was nothing factually inaccurate in the story.
