The last three years have been a roller coaster for Bradley’s men’s basketball team. After starting conference play 0-5 in the 2018-19 season, the Braves turned their campaign around with a magical month of March and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Bradley maintained its momentum with another MVC championship in 2019-20 before COVID-19 derailed the Big Dance — and Bradley’s guaranteed berth in it — altogether. To follow up, the hoopers of the Hilltop teetered on the edge of toppling notable foes such as Missouri early last season, but the Braves stumbled to a 12-16 finish.
Many other college basketball players in the country would find it hard to remain steady if they were a senior on the Braves throughout that given period.
But not Ja’Shon Henry.
“He’s consistent every day,” head coach Brian Wardle said. “Ja’Shon Henry is Ja’Shon Henry every day … He doesn’t try to be anything he’s not and I think that’s a great strength and that breeds consistency.”
Henry has provided a steadying presence on Bradley’s roster throughout his college career. The senior forward puts his hallmark on mistake-free basketball, averaging nearly 20 minutes per game, shooting no less than 51% from the field and rarely committing turnovers over three seasons. Anyone who has watched Bradley basketball knows that the Braves are a different team when Henry is on the floor.
“He works extremely hard, he has a great attitude, he’s a good teammate and he comes in and he’s just him,” Wardle said.
While the native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan led by example last year as the Braves featured a new-look group, Henry will face a new challenge this year. Over the offseason, Henry was tasked with leading more with his voice for a team with eight newcomers. The forward is one of only two holdovers — fellow senior big man Ari Boya being the other — that has experienced both of Bradley’s recent conference titles.
Henry took his coach’s challenge in stride and has thrived in his new position.
“Me and [Wardle] just had a conversation about it,” Henry said. “We talked about [how] now that I’m older, I need to be more of a vocal leader, rather than leading by example, so I kind of took that on as a challenge and kind of applied it throughout the summer. Now in the fall, I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job.”
“That’s critical as we have a lot of newcomers,” Wardle added. “We have a blend of older and younger in the classes and we need that communication and we need that leadership.”
More than just a morale-booster
Henry’s mentorship and intangibles are invaluable, but the senior is looking toward a starring role for the coming season. The forward earned MVC All-Bench team honors after being primarily the sixth man for the Braves in the 2020-21 season. Despite starting only four games, Henry’s 10.9 points per game was the most by any player in the conference with less than five starts in 19 years.
It’s no secret that Henry takes his offseason work seriously; he took home more hardware as the MVC’s Most Improved Player after his sophomore campaign. The 6-foot-6-inch forward improved on his defensive versatility before last season, repeatedly shutting down forwards taller and heavier than him.
The Braves are deep at forward with Boya, Rienk Mast, Darius Hannah and transfer Malevy Leons all expected to earn minutes. As a result, Henry diversified his game even further this offseason and now gives the Braves the option to put him at small forward.
“A big focus in my offseason was just becoming more of a guard and getting more perimeter skills,” Henry said. “I’m learning coming off the ball screen, learning to make certain reads and things like that.”
Wardle sang Henry’s praises as well, emphasizing that the veteran added more playmaking and passing skills to go with more conditioning; a necessary asset to play on the perimeter.
“He’s done that adjustment well and I think he’s thrived in it this fall,” Wardle said. “He’s really looking forward to it and I’m excited because it keeps us long and big and athletic at a lot of positions and I think that can help us.”
Coming full circle
As Bradley marches into the new season with half the team consisting of new faces, it becomes all the more important for Henry to produce. After the Braves struggled to put the pieces together last year following a roster overhaul, Henry feels that he can help ensure that the team will be more cohesive now.
“The biggest thing is staying together,” Henry said. “I think if our team stays together, which I don’t think we’re going to have a problem doing, then I think we’re going to be just fine. Having trust on and off the court is huge, which we were able to develop over the summer.”
Henry developed a rapport with the Braves’ fresh faces over the summer, saying that he helped calm their nerves on the court and even assisted them in finding their way to classes. Henry credits the 2018-19 senior class from when he was a freshman with giving him an example, which he now leads by.
“[The seniors] really took me under their wing and showed me the ropes on how we do things here,” Henry said. ”Now that I’m the older guy, I’m able to do the same thing with the younger guys, so it’s kind of a cool cycle.”
Henry will no longer be in the shadows as Elijah Childs and four other key pieces from the Braves last year have departed. Whether or not Henry will start most games remains to be seen, but what is guaranteed is that he will not be taken lightly, no matter his role.
However, as has been the case for Henry during his Bradley tenure, the more things change, the more things stay the same.
“I think my approach is going to be the same,” Henry said. “I think the only thing I changed is my leadership now that I’m an older guy. My approach to the game is still going to be the same; I’m still going to be the same player.”
