Duke basketball parts ways with five-star recruit Shelton Henderson. What’s next?
Duke basketball’s incoming recruiting class is losing a five-star player, as Shelton Henderson requested and received a release from the National Letter of Intent he signed last November.
A 6-6 wing player rated No. 14 in the 2025 recruiting class, Henderson is now free to sign with any school.
Duke sources on Friday confirmed the development, which was first reported by 247sports.
Henderson had been part of the No. 1-rated recruiting class, along with 6-9 forward Cameron Boozer, 6-4 guard Cayden Boozer and 6-8 forward Nik Khamenia. Henderson’s departure caused 247sports to downgrade Duke’s class to No. 5 nationally.
Former Duke assistant coach Jai Lucas was Henderson’s primary recruiter before Lucas left to become Miami’s head coach in March. Both Henderson and Lucas are from Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas, so the Hurricanes, along with the hometown Houston Cougars, are now among the leaders to obtain Henderson for next season.
Duke remains in the running to add 6-9 forward Nate Ament, whose twist-and-turn recruitment continues. The Blue Devils are among his finalists, along with Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky and Arkansas.
In addition to the freshmen, the Blue Devils have 6-9 forward Maliq Brown returning for his senior season along with 6-11 center Pat Ngongba, who should be a major player in the post for them as a sophomore next season.
That’s in addition to rising sophomore wing players Isaiah Evans and Darren Harris plus Caleb Foster, a 6-4 guard who said this week he’ll be returning for his junior season. That made for a crowded depth chart for Henderson to attempt to break in to and find playing time.
Duke has lost 6-7 small forward Kon Knueppel to the NBA Draft after his freshman season and expects to lose Cooper Flagg, the national player of the year and projected No. 1 pick, to the pros as well. Khaman Maluach, a 7-2 freshman center, is also projected as a top-10 NBA Draft pick and is expected to depart.
Later Friday night, the Blue Devils received word that 6-5 guard Tyrese Proctor was leaving for the NBA following three seasons in Duke’s starting lineup.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 8:34 AM.