Duke, Shelton Henderson Reportedly Part Ways; 5-Star SF Reopens Recruitment

Highly touted small forward recruit Shelton Henderson has reportedly decommitted from Duke and reopened his recruitment.

According to 247Sports' Travis Branham, Duke released Henderson from his national letter of Intent this week after he had previously committed to the school in November.

Henderson is rated as a 5-star recruit in the class of 2025, and 247Sports' composite rankings list him as the No. 21 overall player, No. 4 small forward and No. 2 player from the state of Texas in his class.

The 6'6", 220-pound wing had been part of what was the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, along with 5-star forward Cameron Boozer and 4-star recruits Nikolas Khamenia and Cayden Boozer.

Per Branham, Henderson's de-commitment may have been due to a combination of factors, including the depth of Duke's roster next season and beyond.

Also, the coach who was primarily responsible for recruiting Henderson to Duke is no longer at the school.

Former Duke assistant Jai Lucas is now the head coach at Miami, which suggests the Hurricanes could potentially be in the mix to land Henderson.

The Blue Devils are coming off a highly successful 2024-25 season, as they went 35-4 and reached the Final Four.

Their season ended in disappointment, though, as they fell 70-67 to Houston in the Final Four despite leading for the majority of the game.

Additionally, Duke is likely to lose several top players from the team, including the superstar freshman trio of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, who are all projected lottery picks in the 2025 NBA draft.

That means there should be plenty of opportunities for incoming freshmen to make an impact, but with the Boozer brothers and Khamenia to contend with for playing time, Henderson will look to establish himself elsewhere.