After all, I got to meet Ronnie Henderson
During the summer of 1980, former University of Minnesota great Mychal Thompson, who just finished his second year as forward with the NBA Portland Trailblazers, held a basketball camp at Macalester College in St. Paul.
The camp was a big deal at the time and Mychal Thompson was a big name, finishing his career as the U of M’s all-time leading scorer and becoming the No. 1 pick in the 1978 NBA draft.
However, it was a camp that I didn’t want to attend. I wanted to hang with my friends and play with them at Oxford Recreation Center and Martin Luther King Center in St. Paul’s Rondo community.
Nevertheless, my father Kwame McDonald signed me up. So, there I was about to live in college dorms for a week while playing basketball. I was not a happy camper.
That attitude changed when it was brought to my attention that NBA superstar and Philadelphia 76ers forward Julius “Dr. J” Erving was going to make an appearance and scrimmage later in the week.
Wow, I thought. I’m going to meet Dr. J.
A few days into camp Dr. J was present, ready to participate in a scrimmage and meet with myself and fellow campers afterwards. Then everything changed.
It was 46 years ago, but the memory is as clear as yesterday. As a 14-year-old watching Dr. J do his thing, my eye became fixed on a 5’7” point guard who, while running a fast break, threw the ball off the backboard as the Doctor slam dunked it with authority.
I couldn’t believe what I had witnessed. “Who was the guy that threw it off the backboard?” I asked my father immediately after the scrimmage.
“That’s Ronnie Henderson,” he replied. The expression on his face as he answered the question gave me the impression that I should have known who he was. I didn’t.
Meeting Dr. J was no longer my priority. I wanted to meet Ronnie Henderson. My father introduced me. My camp experience was complete.
Henderson, the point guard who led Marshall U to an undefeated season and Class A championship in 1976, MIAC championships in 1980 and 1981 at Augsburg University, and became one of state’s most respected basketball referees, passed away suddenly last week, leading to numerous tributes and posts on social media outlets.
My relationship with Henderson developed years after his scrimmage with Dr. J, as a referee, social worker, and Hall of Famer. When he wasn’t officiating games, it was common for me to be covering a basketball game, look into the stands, and see Henderson sitting in the crowd. Working for Youth Services, he connected with students at St. Paul Johnson High School, where I teach social studies.
Besides the scrimmage, the moment that most lives in my memory of Henderson was being his host at his 2019 induction into the Minnesota Basketball Hall of Fame. Walking with him to the Target Center to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves play after his induction, we talked quite a bit about his high school coach Ed Prohofsky, who was also inducted that day.
“Today I’m a very happy man,” he said then, smiling.
“I’m happy for you too,” I replied.
Henderson in his gentle and humble way made it clear that I had it all wrong. “I’m a happy man because Coach [Prohofsky] got inducted,” he said, adding, “I’m so happy for him. He deserves the honor.”
That was Ronnie “Bull” Henderson.
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader comments to mcdeezy05@gmail.com.