Ethan Henderson provides spark, plays heavy minutes vs. Tennessee

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Arkansas jumped out to a large lead early, survived a second-half surge and eventually pulled away for an 86-69 win over Tennessee, getting revenge for its worst loss of the season just two weeks prior.

An unexpected contributor to that quick start was Ethan Henderson, who found himself in the starting lineup for the second time in three games.

For the Little Rock native, it was an opportunity to show fans in his home state why he was a highly recruited prospect coming out of Parkview High.

“Being able to start at home is a big thing,” Henderson said. “I’m from Arkansas and it’s my first time starting in Bud Walton. I feel like I have more to prove (and) I have no room for error. I have to go out there and just play hard and block shots and get rebounds and do things that add up at the end of the game.”

The move paid immediate dividends, as Henderson provided a burst of energy in the game’s first four minutes. He racked up four rebounds, with three coming on the offensive end - including one that led to a nice put back for two points - and notched a block all before the first media timeout.

Those were his only points, but he finished the game with a career-high nine rebounds - shattering his previous high of five set against Providence in the NIT last year - and matched a career high with three blocks.

“We saw this all summer and we saw this in training camp,” teammate Mason Jones said. “We knew what Ethan could bring us, it was just the fact that the coaches started to trust him and he finally started trusting himself to where Ethan is finally starting to do the good things that we need him to do for this team.”

Henderson also played well in his last start, scoring seven points at Florida, but he was limited to only 10 minutes because he got into foul trouble. He eventually fouled out midway through the second half.

That wasn’t the case Wednesday. Henderson didn’t commit a foul in the first half and had only three for the game, with his last coming with only 2:24 remaining.

“I just really just stick to the game plan: hands up and body up,” Henderson said. “If we can front, then I’ll front. If we can three-quarter them then three-quarter them. But if I get behind them, then I try not to foul, to stay vertical and try to block the shot after he jumps.”

Not only did avoiding foul trouble keep him from going to the bench, but Henderson played well enough to stay on the court for a career-high 30 minutes. His previous high was 18 minutes, which also came in that NIT game against Providence.

Henderson, who averaged 4.3 minutes in 12 games as a freshman, didn’t even see the court in 12 of the Razorbacks’ first 21 games this season and averaged just 3.9 minutes when he did. During Arkansas’ five-game losing streak, though, that increased to 9.2 minutes.

However, that was seemingly out of necessity with Isaiah Joe out as he recovered from having his knee scoped. After playing only 30 seconds against Missouri, Joe’s first game back, it seemed like Henderson would be relegated back to the bench.

Instead, he was back in the starting lineup Wednesday night and Musselman said the increased playing time was a direct result of what he’s seen from Henderson at practice. He’s been much more talkative and shown the coaches he understands what’s being asked of him.

“He’s started picking up our terminology,” Musselman said. “We’ve seen a more focused player. We’ve seen tremendous growth in him coming into the gym at off hours. I just think he’s taking the game really, really serious of late.”

Considering the Razorbacks’ well-publicized lack of size, Henderson’s 6-foot-8 frame could be a key factor down the stretch and into the SEC Tournament as they fight for a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

A road trip to Athens, Ga., awaits Arkansas on Saturday, with the game against Georgia scheduled for 5 p.m. CT. It will be televised on the SEC Network.

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