BRANDON Henderson had just returned from a nice date downtown with his girlfriend.
They enjoyed hearing local musicians perform at an art gallery on Main Street, but the evening ended up being shattered. An intern in the Grizzlies basketball operations, Henderson returned to where he’d parked his vehicle only to find nothing but broken glass.
Someone had stolen his 1993 Chrysler New Yorker.
The incident took place a day before Thanksgiving. This happened at a time when the Grizzlies were starting a six-day trip, and Henderson was left with work to do around FedExForum.
“I was trying to keep calm,” said Henderson, who took a level of worry to his home in Arlington. He had no other means of transportation.
Until now.
Griz players teamed up and purchased a new Nissan Altima, surprising the 24-year-old Henderson with the red-bow-covered car on Friday morning before their loss to the Chicago Bulls.
When player videos capturing the act of kindness hit social media, the nation took notice. ESPN aired the footage on SportsCenter and several web sites made mention.
Nearly a month after catching rides and often walking from Point A to B, the early Christmas present almost elicited tears from a normally calm, cool and reserved Henderson.
“I don’t know how the guys found out,” Henderson said. “I kept it like that because I try to keep stuff that happens at home away from work. It didn’t seem real. It seemed like a dream. It’s like stuff you see on TV. They didn’t have to do it, but it’s a blessing.”
Henderson said he only contacted the police and later told close family members.
Still, his bout with adversity turned out to be the worst-kept secret among the Grizzlies. Henderson was shocked when Griz swingman Quincy Pondexter sent him a text asking about his car situation on Thanksgiving Day.
Then, Henderson heard from Vince Carter, Tony Allen and several other players. No one would reveal how they learned about the incident. To a man, though, the players were eager to talk about why no one hesitated to help Henderson.
“He’s dedicated to the Grizzlies. He’s always there when we need him,” Pondexter said. “We have to look out for our own. We say it’s a family around here, so we were looking out for a family member. I’ve had cars stolen. I didn’t grow up with any money, so I know how it is to be in that situation.”
Carter and Pondexter asked teammates to donate whatever amount they wanted.
Every player generously chipped in with no questions asked.
“We wanted to bless him,” forward Zach Randolph said. “He’s a good kid.”
Henderson was 19 when he joined the Griz as a ball boy working under longtime equipment manager Chuck Sweeney. The Whitehaven graduate is in his senior year on pace to graduate from the University of Memphis in May. He attended Southwest Tennessee Community College and LeMoyne-Owen before transferring to the U of M.
Henderson made such an impression on the Grizzlies that he was promoted to work in basketball operations as an intern. His duties are too long to list. Henderson essentially is a personal assistant to 14 players and he’s multitasking at all times.
Henderson will receive a college degree in education, but his goal now is to work in player development and scouting with the Griz.
“He’s such a hard worker. He’s loyal and he’s responsible. He’s everything you could ask for as a person and as a professional,” Sweeney said. “It’s pretty uncommon, but it says a lot about his perseverance and his diligence. He stayed faithful and dedicated. I’d like to keep him around as long as he wants to be here.”
Henderson’s desire to work for the Griz is off the charts. This is how driven he was to be everywhere he needed to even though he no longer owned a car: Henderson caught a ride from his mother either to FedExForum or the University of Memphis campus. When he needed to be at both places at different times on the same day, Henderson walked nearly 40 minutes between the locations.
“Man, he’s a grinder and that’s what I like about him,” Allen said. “He’s going to get it done. I noticed it before they hired him [in basketball operations].”
Henderson’s mom would usually provide transportation home at the end of the day from FedExForum or school, unaware of the miles he might have walked since being dropped off in the morning.
“I didn’t tell my parents I was walking. I didn’t want them to worry,” Henderson said. “I wasn’t embarrassed or anything—I just wanted to figure out how to make it work. A lot of people were upset about it because I wouldn’t ask for a ride. I just looked at it as a minor setback.
“I also didn’t want to complain to the team about why I can’t do something. I just had to make it happen. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But it’s a blessing because I didn’t really struggle while going through this.”
Henderson actually found a used truck and was preparing to travel to Alabama for the purchase. Players often asked about Henderson’s search for a car so Pondexter put the brakes on when he learned of Henderson’s imminent buy.
“I told him the details on it, but Quincy was like ‘Look, don’t buy it.’” Henderson said. “I was thinking, why is he telling me don’t buy a car? I’ve got to get to work. I’ve got to get to school. I have to get things done for the guys. It never dawned on me that they were getting me a car.”
Indeed, the two-door sedan was in an underground parking garage after shootaround last Friday morning. The Griz pulled off the surprise with the excitement of their big comeback wins and overtime thrillers this season.
Allen took Henderson to Houston’s for lunch. Henderson then started receiving a flood of phone calls from players and other staff members, saying he needed to return to FedExForum immediately for an urgent staff meeting.
“They told me something happened,” Henderson said. “When we got back, the guys are arguing and fussing at me. I didn’t know what I did. They were just going at me and then all of a sudden they pulled the car up. It shocked me. I didn’t ask for it. I wasn’t looking for it. I didn’t want a handout. I look at it as a blessing.”
There’s no doubt that the Grizzlies feel blessed to know Henderson.
“He’s made my transition a lot smoother than it normally would have been,” guard Courtney Lee said. “He’s very humble. You could see him holding his tears back but then he started sweating like crazy. But that’s important—giving back to people that really help people out.”
Henderson hugged every player present when he received the car. He also sent every player on the team a “thank you” text.
“It was tough to keep it from him because he does so much for us,” Carter said. “Just to see him sit in that car…when he closed the door, he exhaled. It was great. He’s willing to do anything for anyone. He has a big heart. He’s very appreciative and he takes his job seriously. He makes sure we’re comfortable. “It’s become a big brother-little brother type thing. He has an unbelievable work ethic. He’s punctual. You appreciate people like that and I’ve always been willing to do for people that do for themselves and who are trying to do the right thing. That’s who he is and that’s what he’s about. He said ‘Man, I’ll never be able to repay you guys for this.’ I told him that the way you can repay me is to continue to be the guy that you are.”
Henderson didn’t have to worry about parking the day he took ownership of the new car.
Allen insisted Henderson use his personal parking spot in the underground garage at FedExForum.
“The guys motivate me even when they don’t know it,” Henderson said. “A lot of people look at them like they’re not real. But they’ve worked hard and they’ve overcome a lot to get where they are. They inspire me more than they know. I try to earn everything.”
Ronald Tillery / Tribune News Service
Image credits: AP