LaDontae Henton, Your Latest Gem City Cager
August 4, 2010 Tom Blackburn 
NOT, I repeat, NOT a mugshotAccording to Recruit Scoop, a high-school student from Lansing, Michigan named LaDontae Henton has pledged his future to Brian Gregory and the University of Dayton. Henton chose Dayton over roundball powerhouses like South Florida, Penn State, Utah, Cleveland State, Western Michigan, Central Michigan (no Eastern Michigan?) and Detroit. Oh, and Oakland University.
Henton is a 6'5" lefty with imposing inside skillz. (Apparently, Brian Gregory thought Percy Gibson was so nice he decided to sign him twice?)
From Rivals:
LaDontae Henton (Michigan Mustangs, 2011)- There is nothing glamorous about this 6-foot-5 left handed wing's game, but he has a knack for grinding out buckets with his physical and determined play.
A 6'5" lefty with a "knack for grinding out buckets?" A Nate Green redux will be welcomed with open arms. I'm just glad we don't have to discuss the creepy world of recruiting for another year.
Don Donoher
Straight from the mouth of TJ Kelley, owner/director of Inside Prep Sports, in regards to LaDontae Henton:
"Henton is a great pickup for Dayton as he provides constant energy and plays hard. The 6'5" lefty has a great knack for rebounding and putting the ball in the basket. He'll be a four-year starter and has played AAU with the Mustangs 17u team since he was in the 7th grade. He was also an integral factor on The Family's championship run at last year's Nike sponsored Peach Jam. While it is an unofficial statistic in Michigan, he will more than likely end his high school career as the state's all-time leading rebounder. (14+ rpg for his career).
A report I did on Monday from Michigan Boys' Reaching Higher Showcase: It’s hard to believe LaDontae Henton (Lansing Eastern) will be a senior as he’ll be a four-year starter for Lansing Eastern’s head coach Rod Watts this upcoming season. The 6’5 lefty forward is on pace to finish amongst the state’s all-time leading scorers and possibly the state’s unofficial career leading rebounder. As of now, the senior holds offers from Dayton, Cleveland State, Utah, Penn State, Central Michigan, and Detroit while Marquette and Providence have recently shown interest.
Reader Comments (39)
Let's not get pithy. LaDontae Henton is going to be a stud. You heard it here first.
Note many of the Spartans faithful clamoring for an offer. On the downside, we now have two more Michigan kids for Swampy to cream his jeans over.
http://www.spartantailgate.com/forums/jack-breslin-msu-basketball-recruiting-forum/390792-11-mi-sf-ladontae-henton.html
@Ray: Pithy? Well I've never...
Trust me, I don't compare someone with Nate Green lightly. Henton seems like one of those guys that has the size of a three man with the skills of a four. A tweener as the kids say.
This is true. If anyone ever compared me to Nate Green, I'd immediately put it on my resume as my only qualification.
I think we've found the team's new weed-man.
@Cjnt: weed, ice, blow. I think LaDontae can get you what you need.
Because I can't get enough urban teens:
Lansign State Journal Player of the Year - http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/99999999/SPORTS02/4040508/Boys-basketball-Player-of-the-Year-Lansing-Eastern-s-LaDontae-Henton
Of note, he averaged 24.8 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 2.3 steals and 2.5 assists per game on a team that lost to Devin Oliver's Kalamazoo Central in the State Semis.
BG's favorite crooked friend Paul Biancardi had this to say about him:
Soaring wing
LaDontae Henton (Lansing, Mich.) also provided offense for The Family in the U-16 final. Henton was beating his defender off the dribble to score. The lefty showed a nice midrange game. He is able to secure the rebound on the defensive end and outlet or lead the break himself. When he outlets it, he continues to run the floor, often getting a return pass or getting a tip-in. He is not afraid to chase down a loose ball and dive on the floor. He operates well from the high post area. His strong body allows him to finish through contact and maintain his intensity throughout the game.
So...sounds like he needs to work on his jump shot. Shocking, I know.
@Ollie: don't worry, everyone that comes to UD develops their outside game over time. For example, ........
@Oliver - The chances of Dayton getting a guy that doesn't need work on a portion of his game are slim. Either they need to learn how to shoot (Wright, Henton), undersized (Gibson, Chris Johnson) or they're rail thin (Benson). Kids that have it all don't go to Dayton.
Henton's a nice get. With PG pretty much settled for the next 3-4 years, getting two guys that can score inside with a junkyard dog mentality is just good basketball sense. I'm digging the setup of the roster for 2011 and beyond. Seems like everyone's game will mesh and compliment each other well. Good PGs in Staten, Parker and Dillard. Some perimeter options in PDub, Spearman, Hill and Oliver, interior threats in Benson, Henton and Gibson, Cap it off with the bruiser in Kavanaugh. I think it'll work well.
@Adam: I'm thrilled with the Henton commitment. I just felt the need to add something snarky at the end.
I'm with you in understanding we're not in the running for flawless players. From the little I've read on him he sounds like the type of player that can thrive at mid-major (his flaws are minor). Nothing not to like about an athletic, hard-nosed kid who's done nothing but produce.
@Adam: I'm on board. I love the Hentons and Gibsons of the world. I don't care if either guy can shoot from outside two feet, I just love the type of guys that rely on their physicality to impose their will on people.
Based on his picture I love this guys already and he hasn't even put on a Flyers jersey.
I beat him in a game of 21 last week. He had to pay up by giving me a dime bag, a verbal commitment, and a good rimming. He will be an excellent addition to my Harem....errr team.
Hmmm, lot of drug talk in this thread. I saw on the MSU forum he was carrying a 3.2 GPA. In a Michigan big city public` HS that's probably valedictorian type stuff. Granted, the ability to fog a mirror and show up for class each day will get you a 3.0 in his HS. Anyway, unless you tards have some inside information I wouldn't pin the drug rap on this guy. Yeah, the picture looks like a mug shot but let's not say he's the second coming of LW just yet.
After watching the highlight video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0p5GNNyXhs&feature=player_embedded), I'm sold.
He looks longer than I expected and he clearly knows what to do with the basketball once he gets it (note the pretty face-up spin-move to the middle). Throw in the fact that he'll play D and will likely push double-digit rebounds and I'm starting to get a little Swampy over here.
@Blackburn
I hear the Sr. Schmelling situation could be messy for some UD athletes. Anything you hear? I'm sure Doog is all over it.
@Timmy Wabs: I've heard some rumblings, not sure if anything will come to light. We shall see.
It all depends on how her exit is handled (it sounds like she hasn't been officially terminated as of this writing--at least according to her). I'm sure UD doesn't want Schmelling to talk about certain "incidents" that were overlooked over the past year or so due to the fact that they involved UD basketball players.
She certainly could go public with her first-hand knowledge of certain events, and I am sure the administration is aware of that and will take the nece$$ary $tep$ to make sure that doesn't happen.
Damnit Blackburn, go all AJ Daulerio and post these stories. Fucking hookers was good and all, but I pay for the SCOOP.
@Adam: its nothing too sexy. Just your basic jocks being jocks type of stuff.
Obviously, something weird is going on because Schmeling just signed an extension and now she is being shitcanned without cause. That's...um...odd. The good sister has already lawyered up and promises to issue a statement if/when she is officially terminated. I'm obviously hoping this thing goes away quietly.
Sr. Schmeling made $163,760 per year.
REPEAT:Sr. Schmeling made ONE HUNDRED SIXTY THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR as "Vice President for Student Development" in Dayton, OH.
Only in America. Only in fucking America. God bless us, everyone.
TMAN RIMS ASS
Good to see the pious sister living a humble and basic life of a nun. Sister Schmelling get tae fuck.
@ Blackburn - how do you pay a nun off?
@ Anyone - why did they pay a nun $163,000?
@ The Henton and Gibson families - file for restraining orders on diminutive men "from the streets" immediately.
I would doubt she actually keeps that salary, that's just an accounting thing. I'm guessing all of her salary above living expenses gets donated back to the school and church. I've never heard of a member of the church keeping more than enough to cover necessities. Well, except people like Joel Osteen driving Bentleys. Even the people at the Big Butter Jesus church give back all the church's money. Granted they got rich by smuggling coke inside horse's rectums, but still.
@Adam...spot on buddy. My aunt is a nun and they all take the life of poverty. I know this because when my grandmother died, lawyers read her will and it said, "I do not leave so and so any money. Not out of spite or hate, but because she has taken the vow of poverty."
What classic idea that I can use with my kids. I can see them at the reading of the will with their greedy little hands excited for my moneys and I say I am not giving them anything because they took a vow of poverty. And them saying, "What? I didn't fucking do that." I am leaving all of my assets to the BR and all of the commenters. Except for John, who has taken, you guessed it, a vow of poverty.
So if Sister sues the university, does she donate that money to charity too? When she gets her 6+ months' payout, does she donate all of that money?
@mf...yes. That is the point of being a nun. All of the money she gets will go back to the church in some capacity.
So does UD pay all Vice Presidents of Student Development $160k? Or do they just "donate" more to the church through higher salaries to religious employees?
@Charles Hustle: not so much a payoff, but you have to make her sign a non-disclosure agreement when this thing finally gets resolved. We can't have this crazy asshole running around telling people about how so and so had a DUI that no one knew about, or that so and so got caught plagarizing a term paper.
@Adam: horse rectums, interesting.
Bottom line, the Catholic Church is the shadiest corporation in the world.
Did you just call a nun a crazy asshole? I like it.
What the fuck? Why do we need another 6'4" player? I think we need someone 6'8" or taller who can score and rebound.
@Dirty Sanchez: I think you are forgetting about Matt Kav...ah, fuck.
@Blackburn
My mole deep in the ghetto tells a story of a prized recruit trying to get an early jump on UD's steals record, and the good sister wanted to get the Po Po involved. I hope it's not true from a Win-Loss perspective, but the meltdown on Pride might make it worthwhile.
@Dirty-What up kid? Why don't you just resign yourself to the fact that under BG we will always be an "up tempo" team with a front court roster of tweener 4s.
@Blackburn-You totally went deadspin on us there. Please tell me BG didn't go all Greg Oden/Brett Favre on the good Sister!
Its bad enough Sr. Smelly tried to ruin UD for students, but I'll be damned if she tries to fuck with our defending NIT champs and 8th best team in the A-14. The good sister came to UD my senior year and dealing with her could not have been more of a nightmare. She treated the student body like little kids with a complete lack of respect and she brought so much stupid BS to the table (not hanging sheets, cancelling charity events at the last minute etc) that made her intolerable. As someone who spent their whole life in Catholic schools, often times you'll find those that spend their lives in a "vow of poverty" and in higher education are extremely out of touch to say the least. She was the complete opposite of the community Marianist schols create. I'd know I went to one for grade school, high school and college....Goodbye witch! Time to cut UD a donation check for getting it right!
I think UD was just tired of drunk hillbillies burning each other to death in Ghetto fires. Was Schmeling overbearing? Probably. But, I can kind of see where the school was coming from.
@blackburn: Please leave the good people of Russia, OH out of this discussion. They should be free to do anything they want to their shacks or farm animals.
@Brother Tim: understood.
Jesus....this kid looks like a fucking rapist
@Ben hahaha
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