The young Shelton Henderson once dreamed of cooking for the president of the United States.

Now as a senior, he’s cooking up something different: wins for Team USA on the basketball court.

“I have always watched cooking shows, Ramsey and stuff,” Henderson said. “After that, I’ll just try making stuff. I think I make the best pasta in the world. Cooking is something I love [to do] on the side.”

When he discovered basketball, cooking became a tool rather than a dream. The meals he prepares now fuel his performance.

“[Basketball] is something that really caught my attention ever since I was young,” Henderson said. “Playing just makes you feel free and that is something I really enjoy.”

Basketball was always a part of Henderson’s life, but it wasn’t until eighth grade when he received his first collegiate offer that it turned from a passion into a priority.

“I started taking everything a lot more seriously when it came to basketball,” Henderson said. “That also means taking care of my body and everything else that comes with [prioritizing athletics].”

Preparing for an athletic collegiate career was nothing new for Henderson’s family. His father played college basketball and comes from a line of football athletes. He attributes his success to the examples he grew up with and the support of his mother.

“My biggest inspiration is probably my mom because she pushes me to be the best person and player I can be,” Henderson said.

His mother’s support has been fundamental to his career. Having been there for him since his AAU days, she couldn’t contain her excitement when Henderson made Team USA 18U in June.

“She was jumping around screaming,” Henderson said. “She already purchased the tickets to go to Argentina after the tryouts were over with. I think she was more happy than I was.”

After four rounds of eliminations from a pool of 24 players, Henderson made the final 12 at the Colorado tryouts.

“If they knocked on your door, you knew you were going home,” Henderson said. “My roommate didn’t make it so they knocked on our door. We stared at each other for a minute before we knew who it was when they called his name. It was sad to see him leave because we were together for a week.”

One knock. That was all he had: one chance. But he didn’t let this faze him.

“I was very nervous because after practice we would go back to our dorm rooms and they would pull you out to tell you if you got cut or not,” Henderson said. “When it got down to 13-14 players, that’s when I really started getting nervous. And they were all really good players. It could have been anybody.”

Not only did he face elite competition at the tryouts, but top national coaches also came to watch. Coaches from Division I NCAA programs like Texas State University and Duke University traveled from across the country to scout the new prospects. Beyond talent, they were assessing how well players handled the intensity of the moment.

“The first week college coaches would come watch, like NBA scouts would come watch us practice,” Henderson said. “The second week it was just the team, and that’s when they made the real cuts.”

Shortly after the coaches made their selections, the newest additions to Team USA 18U flew to Argentina for two weeks of matches against other national 18U teams.

“[The coaches] really pushed us, especially because they knew we were going to win, but they wanted to push us and make us better, and just give us that experience,” Henderson said. “[They] allowed us to play through mistakes. Having that and the players I was playing with and against made me better.”

Playing with the best of his age group on Team USA in Argentina elevated Henderson’s game to a new level, something senior and power forward Anthony Andrews noticed.

“You could tell he had a new level of maturity,” Andrews said. “It got easier for him to play with high schoolers. He got better, and he just knows more about basketball now.”

Through Team USA, Henderson found others who understood the grind of early mornings, intense training, strict diets and the challenge of balancing school with elite competition.

“I made some really close friends with those guys,” Henderson said. “I was with them for almost a month. We still talk daily. We still hit each other up. I think we had really good, special friendships.”

Not only did Henderson form close bonds with his teammates, but he also got a taste for what it is like to represent his country at the international level.

“Some games we couldn’t even get to our locker room,” Henderson said. “I remember one of the fans took a pair of my shoes. They were asking for your jersey and stuff. It was really fun.”

Although it was his first time in Argentina, Henderson is familiar with traveling for sports competitions. His unusual schedule often cuts into class time. Last year, he missed the last four weeks of school and had to take his finals early.

“[My teachers] are really understanding,” Henderson said. “Last year they let me get my finals done and all my work I would be missing along the way. They were really helpful.”

His hard work, both in the classroom and on the court, was beginning to yield major rewards. On June 9, 2024, Team USA claimed the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA Men’s AmeriCup. Just weeks later, Duke University reached out to offer Henderson an athletic scholarship to play basketball.

“After I got back from Argentina, [Duke] called me like the next day, early in the morning,” Henderson said. “They [gave me the offer] over FaceTime. I was running up and down my house, just happy. My mom, she was more happy to me. [Everyone] was really just ecstatic for me.”

If Team USA wasn’t enough, committing to Duke places puts Henderson in the top crest of high school players. Only one percent of high school boys basketball players go on to play NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball, and only four Class of 2029 players have committed to Duke for the 2025-2026 season, including Team USA teammate Nikolas Khamenia. Henderson will be the first Bellaire student to play for Duke in the history of the school.

His journey to this level began early—Henderson has been receiving college basketball offers since eighth grade when the small forward impressed scouts by playing up in a game, earning his first Division I offer from Texas Tech.

“I got my first offer from college,” Henderson said. “After that, it set my mind on point. I was like ‘I can really do this.’ It really hit me.”

With offers from Texas Tech, University of Houston, University of Texas at Austin, University of Louisville, LSU, DePaul University and Duke, the question was, “Where to commit?” It wasn’t until Henderson visited the campus over the summer that he decided on Duke.

“It was really nice that I got to go,” Henderson said. “They have a thing called Midnight Madness where they introduce the team and have all the students come out and watch them practice and stuff. I got an idea of the atmosphere and the energy that they have.”

Though Henderson deliberated on whether to commit, attending Duke had been a long-time dream of his.

“Not everyone knew that was my dream school,” Henderson said. “Only a couple people knew from when I was younger, but I didn’t really tell anybody. The culture that they’ve built over the last couple years has been really cool.”

Duke is just the first step. Henderson hopes to make it to the NBA in the future, which was a factor in his decision to play for Duke.

“[Duke] sends a lot of people to the NBA, a lot of major people,” Henderson said. “They have a lot of alumni that are all around the NBA, like coaches. The owner of the NBA even went to Duke. Right now, the plan is to go to Duke for one or two years and then get drafted.”

Though it was Henderson’s plan all along, his commitment surprised Bellaire’s varsity boy’s head coach Bruce Glover, who expected him to choose the University of Texas at Austin.

“I found out [he was committing to Duke] the day before the signing. They kept it really secretive and that worked for him,” Glover said. “Someone else [told me]. He gave it away because he had his [Duke] shirt on, but I was glad for him.”

Despite the curveball, Glover believes in Henderson’s potential.

“The sky’s the limit,” Glover said. “He’s kept working and kept working, and he was very talented, so that’s what you see now.”

Andrews is confident Henderson will see future basketball success.

“He has the chance to go to college and then immediately the next year make it to the draft,” Andrews said.

With hard work and consistency, Henderson will give it his all when pursuing his goals.

“I dream a lot,” Henderson said. “I am a ‘dream big’ type of person. If I have an idea of something I can really achieve, I try to push it to the max. That is something I take great pride in.”