Versatile UA forward Cedric Henderson could play bigger role during Courtney Ramey's suspension

Except, most likely, he will.

Not only Henderson has been working out heavily with the first team in preseason practices, but he also has four years of college experience and the versatility to pop in just about anywhere in the lineup.

Also, consider what happened after Henderson joined the starters Monday when he replaced the foul-plagued Pelle Larsson just 73 seconds into Arizona’s 91-61 exhibition win over Western Oregon: The Wildcats turned a 3-0 lead into a 17-6 advantage, with Henderson adding a field goal and an assist during that stretch.

UA coach Tommy Lloyd has been consistently bullish on Henderson, who may have transferred in from low-profile Campbell but scored 1,196 points over three seasons in the Camels’ low-tempo offense.

Henderson’s performance on Monday, collecting 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting with two rebounds and an assist, didn’t change Lloyd’s viewpoint.

“I’ve said it all along: Cedric is a really good player,” Lloyd said after Monday’s game. “I’m extremely comfortable with him. I was excited to actually see him in a game setting today. I think when these games start to open up and there’s a little more flow to him, I think he’s a really unique player.”

Campbell played with the 14th slowest tempo in Division I last season, nearly the polar opposite of Arizona, but did so with a focus on Princeton-style cutting that Henderson was known to excel at. That skill could translate well to Lloyd’s screen-heavy scheme.

In other words, Henderson knows how to move, whatever the pace.

“We saw some of that (against Western Oregon) — some of the decisions, the floaters he was able to kind of hit on and off the ball screens, getting out in transition with some of those finishes,” Lloyd said. “I’d love to see a little more offensive rebounding and overall rebounding tenacity from him but we’ll get that out of him.”

Henderson is also 22 years old, a veteran of one junior-college season and three at Campbell, and the son of a former NBA player. On Monday, Henderson showed a comfort level on the floor he said afterward can help younger players.

“It gives you somebody else that kind of knows what’s going on, instead of coming in with a young guy,” Henderson said. “Going with me is a more comfortable decision sometimes. I come in and I’m gonna give it 100% at all times. I’m gonna dive on the floor, talk defensively, and then run the court.

“It gives him somebody else out there that (Lloyd) can trust, (whether) they’re out there with the second unit or the first unit.”

But whether he will be on the first or second team in UA’s season opener Monday against Nicholls, Henderson said he wasn’t anticipating anything.

“I just expect to play the same amount I’ve always played,” Henderson said. “It’s really on Tommy on what he wants to do and how he wants to go about it.”

Not surprisingly, when asked about his plans for the three games without Ramey, Lloyd simply said “we plan on playing our asses off regardless of who’s playing.”

Lloyd also repeated his reluctance to put any pressure on freshman guard Kylan Boswell, who could be asked to play play a few extra minutes without Ramey around to back up Kerr Kriisa at point guard. Just 17 years old after skipping his senior season at AZ Compass Prep, Boswell was only recently cleared to play fully after breaking a foot last spring.

“He’s going to be a hell of a basketball player,” Lloyd said. “Could be an all-time great here. But just let’s give him a little bit of time and let it happen organically.”

In addition, Lloyd took a no-worries approach to Kriisa, who could be asked to shoulder more without Ramey but is coming off two rough public preseason shooting efforts: He was 1 for 6 from 3-point range in the Wildcats’ Red Blue Game, and missed all three shots he took Monday, including two 3-pointers.

“Kerr’s been great,” Lloyd said. “Kerr and I obviously have a great understanding of what he means to this program, and I think he’s kind of taken a little bit of a wait-and-see attitude, and let others get themselves comfortable.

“I think we all know Kerr is two consecutive 3s from being rolling.”

Meanwhile, Lloyd also took a non-combative approach to the NCAA suspension that crimped his rotation plans in the first place: Ramey was suspended three games for playing in the Portsmouth Invitational predraft camp because it wasn’t certified by the NCAA — but never needed to be previously because its participants had always exhausted their college eligibility.

When the NCAA granted 2020-21 “COVID-year” participants an extra year of eligibility, that created the possibility that a senior such as Ramey might play at Portsmouth and then return to school. At the time, Ramey was also something of a free agent, having left Texas and being in the NBA Draft pool while also considering playing another year of college.

“He was involved in a situation that had nothing to do with us and ... the NCAA has rules,” Lloyd said. “They feel like it violated one of their rules that warranted a three-game suspension. So there it is. I’m not the guy that’s up here ... I’ll let you guys complain about the NCAA. I don’t complain. I just look forward.

“It’s gonna be a great opportunity for our team and I’m gonna make a positive out of it.”