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By Ryan Beltran
 Henderson (via Bleacher Report)
In a video from Vice Sports two years ago, former Ole Miss point guard Marshall Henderson was highlighted as he was playing professional basketball in Iraq, which was facing some extreme violence. There were times where he pointed out that there would be explosions outside his hotel at night. Compared from his Ole Miss days when he was a controversial, loud, arrogant star, his career and life took a complete spin. He was no longer flashing insults at opposing teams fans or was the troublemaking star for Ole Miss. He wasn’t the guy making showboating gestures at Auburn or Florida fans, making him a villain to many other fans across college basketball. After his college career, he has been drifting from place to place trying to get his life back.
After failing to get drafted and failing to get guaranteed spots on a summer league roster, Henderson took his career overseas. He first traveled to Italy and took short-term contracts at Italian clubs Bertram Tortona and Openjobmetis Varese. After playing in Italy he had stints in Qatar and Iraq in 2015, being named MVP of the Arab Club championship for Al Rayyan Doha. He then got signed for the Sacramento Kings but was then later cut in October 2015 after only one preseason appearance, returning to Italy again for another stint.
Flash forward to current times, and things haven’t been any easier for Henderson’s career. From a recent Bleacher Report article from March, it is clear Henderson isn’t the troublemaker he was in college, but it doesn’t stop the fact he hasn’t been playing professionally for almost two years. He is currently playing rec league games where he can get 40 to 50 points a game easily. His past mistakes from his on court controversies to him getting busted on alcohol and drug charges has affected his image, even to this day.
One of the most interesting points of the article was Henderson reflecting his time in Qatar as his most enjoyable experience. “I had so much reflection time in Qatar," Henderson says. "I realized what an idiot I'd been. All of a sudden this peace came over me. I wasn't going to be negative or selfish anymore. I decided I was going to be thankful for any opportunity I was given. I wasn't going to stress over things that were out of my control." Henderson has kept a low-key profile as of late, spending time trying to get his basketball career going and spending time with his girlfriend of two years.. It is uncertain if he will get a chance to play in the NBA or is even good enough, but his outlook and behavior in life compared to four to five years ago has been a huge improvement that he can hopefully continue to capitalize on. |
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