BUIES CREEK — Jesús Carralero and Cedric Henderson, Jr., have signed with Campbell, men’s basketball coach Kevin McGeehan has announced.
A 6-foot-8 forward from Málaga, Spain, Carralero joins the Camels after spending last season at Link Year Prep in Branson, Mo. A 6-foot-6 native of Memphis, Tenn., Henderson, Jr., arrives in Buies Creek after playing as a freshman at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
During the 2018-19 season at Link Year, Carralero averaged 11.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists for a top-10 ranked post-graduate program. He grew up playing with the Málaga CB juniors, before joining the second team in 2016-17 and the senior team one year later.
“Jesús is a versatile forward who can defend multiple positions,” said McGeehan, the 2019 Big South Conference Coach of the Year. “He has a very well-rounded skill set, that ability to pass and shoot and has had international playing experience which I think will serve him well. Jesús will be a great addition to our program.”
Coached by his father, Cedric Henderson, a former NBA all-rookie team member, Henderson was named Freshman of the Year in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association. He led the Salukis in scoring (17.9), assists (3.67), blocks (1.0) and steals (1.9) while grabbing 4.6 rebounds per contest. Henderson shot 50.6 percent from the floor, including 37.3 percent (31-83) from 3-point range, and 74.4 percent (64-86) from the line.
As a senior at Briarcrest Christian School, Henderson led his squad to the Division 2 state semifinals as a senior when he averaged 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals. He was named to the Tennessee Sports Writers All-State team and to the USA Today All-Tennessee second team. A finalist for the 2018 Tennessee Division 2 Mr. Basketball award, Henderson was named to the Memphis Commercial Appeal All-Metro and the Tennessee Prep Hoops Division 2 all-region teams.
“Cedric is a wing with excellent vision and a desire to pass the basketball,” said McGeehan. “He has good length and will be a versatile defender having had to guard on both the perimeter and interior through high school and again in his on year at junior college. He had an outstanding season playing for his father at Southwest Tennessee Community College.”
Carralero and Henderson complete the six-man 2018-19 Fighting Camel recruiting class, joining forwards Joshua Lusane (Americus, Ga.) and Duane Moss (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), and guards Austin McCullough (Birmingham, Ala.) and Messiah Thompson (Atlanta, Ga.).
The Camels are coming off a Big South Conference regular season championship and three-straight post-season appearances, including a trip to the 2019 NIT. CU finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 20-13 mark and 12-4 record in the league.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
