Phillip Terry Henderson was born April 17, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in University Park — a small, working-class village in the south suburbs, about forty miles from downtown.
At Crete-Monee High School in Crete, Illinois, Henderson became a sensation. Senior year: 21.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.5 APG, 3.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG. He led the Warriors to a 24-win season — the best in school history. First Team All-State. McDonald’s All-American. Parade All-American. The best player in the south suburbs of Chicago.
His rival and friend was Kendall Gill, who played at nearby Rich Central. They battled every week at the University Park YMCA. Gill, who would play fifteen NBA seasons, called Henderson his Joe Frazier — the opponent who made him better, the friend whose excellence demanded excellence in return. Gill chose Illinois. Henderson chose Duke.
In the summer of 1986, Henderson arrived at Duke for a six-week precollege program. There he met Robert Brickey, a fellow highly touted freshman from Fayetteville, North Carolina. They played pickup against David Henderson — no relation, a senior guard on Coach K’s team — and from the first day, the bond was forged. They would spend four years side by side and go to three Final Fours together. Brickey would later say Henderson was a fun-loving guy who loved life and loved basketball. That was the whole of it. That was enough.