Mountain Pointe High School sophomore two-sport star DeAndre Henry pauses for a moment, then smiles and nods his head slightly as he quickly processes his options.
“Pancake block,” Henry explained to Sports360AZ.com when asked if he prefers the physical domination in football or a dunk in basketball. “I’m not going to lie. I love those. It’s more thrilling, especially when you get to lay on top of them.”
The Pride athletic community will get excited to see plenty of both in the next of couple years.
I’m beyond great full!!! Blessed to say have received an offer from Arizona State University. #GoSunDevils ? #Home pic.twitter.com/t8hpkwMdVJ
— ?DeAndre Henry?? (@DreDayy2020) June 3, 2017
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder is already a Division I talent in football and also shot 72 percent from the field, while averaging over six rebounds per game on the hardwood this year, as well.
Had a great time at the #opening. thank you to all the coaches that gave me this opportunity. Blessed beyond measure ?? pic.twitter.com/s6CpurziqF
— ?DeAndre Henry?? (@DreDayy2020) March 12, 2018
“With his length and those God-given talents that he already has,” first-year MP head football coach Rich Wellbrock said to Sports360AZ.com describing his starting right tackle. “He has the desire to get better every day. That’s going to be huge for him.”
Henry is also hoping to stay huge by putting extra time in the weight room and at home adding strength to his frame.
“Playing basketball you’re always running up and down the court and losing a lot of weight,” Henry said. “So keeping the weight balanced…it’s a little tough.”
One expert seems to agree.
“His weight will be the biggest concern,” Sports360AZ.com Recruiting Expert Jason Jewell said. “I think he has the frame to bulk up. DeAndre has all the tools to be a heavily-recruited offensive tackle.”Being a two-sport athlete he’s also seeing the benefit of basketball helping his football skill-set.
“The biggest thing is just footwork,” Wellbrock said. “He’s got good post-footwork for basketball and it helps from a standpoint as an offensive lineman. With the schedule he has to maintain I think it’s phenomenal. He’s a really good student, too. He understands how to manage his time.”
This fall the Pride will feature on the deepest, most-talented offensive line’s in the state and Henry is looking forward to stepping into more of a leadership role entering his junior year.
“I’ve been thinking about how to keep the line more together as a family,” he said. “Coming from last year’s loss in the semi-finals [to Perry], I’m going to show them that we can get a [championship] ring. I’m definitely going to keep the line in-sync.”
Most importantly, the well-liked Henry already seems to have his life in-sync…and a big future ahead.
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Eric Sorenson
A Valley native, Eric has had a passion for the Arizona sports scene since an early age. He has covered some of the biggest events including Super Bowls, national championships and the NBA and MLB playoffs in his near 20 years in local media.