Though his hometown of Chicago will always have great significance to him, Carbondale also will be a place that Ahmad Henderson II fondly remembers.
In guiding UIC’s men’s basketball team to a 68-66 road victory on Jan. 31 over Southern Illinois, the 2023 Brother Rice graduate finished with 11 points, helping him to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
“It means a lot just to surpass that mark and especially to do that here in Chicago (playing for UIC),” Henderson said. “I had a lot of family out at the game and it shows the kind of career that I’ve had.”
Henderson, who was at 1,067 points through last week, began at Niagara in the 2023-24 season, scoring 359 points. In two seasons on the Near West Side at UIC, the 5-foot-9 junior guard has scored 708 points.
“I didn’t even know how close I was at all,” Henderson said. “I hadn’t been checking on it at all. We were down 18 (points) in the second half of that game and we ended up coming back.
“It was a little floater shot that I ended up scoring my 1,000th point on. (UIC sports information director) Chris (Masters) ended up coming into the locker room after the game. We were all hyped after the win and he told the team and everybody went crazy for me. It was definitely a fun moment.
“A couple of my teammates picked me up and put me on their shoulders. That caught me off guard, but they were all excited for me. Everybody was hyped and yelling and screaming. It was fun for sure.”
Henderson was honored with a ceremony before UIC’s home game against Illinois State on Feb. 15 at Credit Union 1 Arena as a result of his milestone with a commemorative basketball among the gifts.
In helping UIC to a 17-14 overall record and a mark of 12-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference, Henderson leads the Flames in scoring (12.1 ppg) and total points (350). He’s second in assists (68) and third in steals (29) and 3-pointers (39).
In all, Henderson said he’s happy with his decision to transfer from Niagara and return to play his college ball in his hometown.
“Being in Chicago means a lot to me,” Henderson said. “My family can watch me play and I have two little brothers — one is at (Brother) Rice right now — and they can see my games.
“It means a lot for them to see my games because being at Niagara, I felt like I was missing a little bit of my life like watching my brothers’ games. It’s good for them to be able to come see me and I can see them. Doing it where I started has been a full-circle moment. I love being here and I love the city of Chicago.
“Knowing that my family and everyone who has supported me growing up is able to come and see me play, it all means a lot.”