Player of the Week: Cole Henry (Week 1)
After a tremendous opening week to his junior season, Oskaloosa forward Cole Henry proved that not only does he have special talent on the hardwood, but a special fan-base backing him up. The 6-foot-9 stretch-four racked up 8,336 total votes, more than 5,000 more votes than second place, Keota’s JD Stout.
We knew Henry — who currently holds an offer from D1 North Dakota — was a capable big-man, with an ability to step out and can a 3-ball; but what has come as a bit of a surprise to us in the early going this season, is his ability to facilitate. He averaged 8.3 assists per game in three Indians wins last week, making him one of the best assist-guys in the state through the first week of the season, not bad for a 6’9 guy.
It was one game in particular that caught our attention. That’s his triple-double — with, yes, assists — against Knoxville. Henry slayed the competition to the tune of 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Something tells us, that was the first in a series of triple-double efforts the versatile forward will orchestrate over the next two seasons.
A Martin Brothers product, Henry has a big year ahead of him in terms of recruitment. He already has the aforementioned North Dakota offer, but has plenty of additional low to mid-major Division I interest coming his way. If he can sustain the success he had through the first week of the season, additional offers may come flooding in.