“Can I get my respect now?”: Duke signee Shelton Henderson shares message after leading high school to state championship game

Duke signee Shelton Henderson, the No. 17 recruit in the Class of 2025, led his team, the Bellaire Cardinals, to the state championship game in the 2025 UIL Texas Boys Basketball State Championships on Monday.

No. 5 Bellaire grabbed a 65-57 win against the Brennan Bears in a game that saw Henderson secure a massive double-double with 26 points and 20 rebounds to take down No. 3-ranked San Antonio Brennan. The 6-foot-6 small forward took to his Instagram story to reshare a post by "BillionnaireVsns" after the game.

"Can I get my respect now?" Shelton Henderson's caption read.

Duke signee Shelton Henderson shares message after leading high school to state championship game (Image: IG/Shelton Henderson)

The Cardinals sit with a 26-10 overall and 10-2 record in the Texas 6A Region III District 18 Basketball League, where they are ranked at the top spot above Lamar, Heights and Westside.

Their path to the State Championship game was not easy. They took a 73-50 win against Cy-Fair in the Bi-District Round on Feb. 17, a 70-51 win against Cinco Ranch on Feb. 21, a 75-66 win against Summer Creek in the Regional Semis on Feb. 25 and a 65-57 win against Brennan in the Regional Finals.

They will now face Duncanville on Saturday in an attempt to win the championship. Shelton Henderson has been important for the Cardinals. In two seasons, the Houston native has played 51 matchups and is posting averages of 21.0 points, 3.3 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

This season, he is scoring 19.4 points, grabbing six boards, dishing out 1.9 assists, stealing the ball 1.9 times and has 0.3 blocks per contest in 15 games. In his junior year, Henderson averaged 21.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.9 spg and 1.4 bpg in 36 matchups.

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Why did Shelton Henderson pick Duke?

Henderson ranks at the fourth spot in the small forward position and first in Texas. The Bellaire senior had plenty of offers, including Houston, Texas, LSU and Louisville, among others.

He talked to 247Sports about choosing the Blue Devils.

"Duke has been my dream school since I started watching basketball," Henderson said on his commitment. "I liked Coach Scheyer, Coach Lucas, and the environment. Both coaches told me what they see in me.

"They feel I can come in and fit right away. I like the atmosphere that they have and the players that they have sent to the NBA. That is my dream so if they can do it with them, they can do with me."

He will join the Boozer twins and Nikolas Khamenia on Jon Scheyer's team next season.