Father of heralded Henry brothers says family re-thinking decision to attend school at Kansas

Henry brothers reconsider choosing Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The father of highly sought Kansas basketball recruits C.J. and Xavier Henry said Tuesday his sons may not play at Kansas, after all.

Xavier Henry, a 6-foot-6 guard, is considered one of the most talented players Kansas coach Bill Self has ever recruited. Adding him to a deep and experienced squad which returns almost everyone from the team that reached the NCAA round of 16 last year would likely make the Jayhawks preseason favorites for the national championship.

Xavier and his older brother, C.J., were headed to Memphis before switching to Kansas in the wake of John Calipari’s decision to coach at Kentucky.

But their father, Carl Henry, told Kansas City sportstalk station KCSP on Tuesday that the family was upset with a story in The Kansas City Star on Sunday. The story, the father said, portrayed his sons as being disinterested in attending classes at college.

Henry said he planned to meet Tuesday night with his sons at the family home in Oklahoma City to see if the boys want to go to Kentucky or keep their commitment to Kansas.

“We have a meeting set up tonight where we’re going to set down and talk about this whole deal,” the elder Henry said.

Asked if there was a chance his sons would not come to Kansas, Henry said, “Yes. I don’t know what they’re considering. When coach Self came down, my oldest son, C.J., said, ‘No matter what, we’re going to Kansas.’ But a couple of weeks ago, my youngest son tells me he wants to go to Kentucky, said he’s thinking about it.”

The extensive story in the Sunday Star indicated the family was mostly interested in preparing an NBA career for the brothers and that Xavier has no interest in school.

“If he didn’t have to go to college, he wouldn’t do it,” Carl Henry was quoted as saying.

When pressed by the interviewers, the elder Henry said there was nothing factually inaccurate in the story.

“The guy who wrote that story kind of betrayed my whole family and kind of made us look bad, like my kids are prima donnas, all I do is talk.” he said.

When Calipari left to be head coach at Kentucky, the brothers switched to Kansas, where their mother, father and aunt all played basketball. Carl Henry said they might have chosen to follow Calipari to his new school but that their mother did not want to live in Kentucky.

But he said she no longer feels that way.

“She told coach Self she’s out of it. She don’t care where they go,” Henry said.

(This version CORRECTS to radio station KCSP.)