Gerald Sr. did say that when his son was home for a couple of days over Christmas, "I told him, 'This midrange area is going to be your bread and butter. It's a lost art in basketball, because of the three-point line. This is what's going to get you all your success, to be able to stop and hit the 8-to-10-footer, from all kinds of different spots."
Lately, Dad sees the same thing as everybody else.
"He started knowing what was under the hood," Gerald Sr. said.
In his prime with Boston and Seattle, the 6-foot-2 Henderson averaged double digits for five straight seasons.
"Gerald never had a problem wanting the ball," said Gminski, a teammate of Gerald Sr.'s for a time with the Sixers. "Young Gerald had to come to that."
As for physical gifts, Gminski said that if the father were taller, you probably would have seen similar play around the rim.
"Gerald was not a weak player by any stretch - he was a very strong guard," Gminski said. "He was much more jump-shot-oriented."
As for comparisons, Gerald Sr. has others in mind.
"If he wants to go further, he's got to be a student of the game," Gerald Sr. said of his son. "He's got to look at players, some great players, Kobe [Bryant] and [Dwyane] Wade - what works for them. You can't tell me Gerald doesn't have the same physical tools. He's got to increase his data bank. He hasn't quite gotten to that point yet . . ."
Dad added another sentence, one to remember.
"But I'm sure he will."
The son isn't talking about the next step. His current footing is still new to him, but he sounds comfortable in this role - "a role where I just had to do more," Henderson said.
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen
at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com.
