Sad news for the primary demographic that reads SFN — former Duke guard, Phil Henderson, has passed away at the age of 44.
Former standout Duke University basketball player Phil Henderson, 44, has died in the Philippines, according to Duke alumnus Seth Davis of CBS Sports.
The cause of his death was not immediately known. He was working in the country as the director of the Filipino Basketball Academy.
Henderson played at Duke from 1986-90 and was a starter in three Final Fours.
The most memorable play of Henderson’s career came with an NC State twist.
In the 1989 Elite Eight against Georgetown in New Jersey’s Meadowlands, Henderson famously drove to the basket and emphatically dunked over the Hoyas’ Alonzo Mourning. The video is captured below:
But that dunk, decorated as one of the top five dunks in Duke Basketball history, almost never happened. You see, Georgetown should have never have been in that game. If not for ‘the worst call in NCAA Tournament history’ that was coincidentally made by an ACC official that some would argue had quite pro-Duke-bias, the NC State Wolfpack would’ve been matched up against the Duke Blue Devils on that Sunday afternoon. For more, you really need to read this.
