Henry and the Techs

With two schools as his primary focus, Georgia Perimeter CC forward Shane Henry hopes today will help him get closer to his decision.

Henry will officially visit Texas Tech today, one of two finalists, along with Virginia Tech, for his services. But even with a pair of others showing interest, Henry is also trying to figure out his future while finishing up where he is now. And that might be the biggest obstacle right now.

"I'm keeping my options open between Texas Tech and Virginia Tech," Henry said. "Really, I just can't wait to see that campus as well. I'm not gonna make a decision until I see both campuses, so I can have a good view of both, the ACC and the Big 12."

Today will be Henry's first visit to Lubbock. And during the trip, he'll be keeping an eye on a few aspects.

"I'm just looking forward to meeting the people on the campus, the alumni, the coaches," Henry said. "I wanna see how the atmosphere is, how the campus is, how basketball is over there and how it plays in a role of student spirit and everything and the Big 12. It's really just the atmosphere."

Henry had initially planned to visit Virginia Tech May 26. That's been pushed back, though, as the Hokies' coaches have had a few other obligations. Still assistant coach Steve Roccaforte, who's led the charge for Henry, has been in steady contact and offered plenty of reassurance.

"He's been recruiting me since USF, so we've had a really good relationship," Henry said. "He's basically just telling me to hang in there. They're not putting me off, they've just got a lot going on over there. They've been out a lot, but he keeps reminding me that they're interested in me and to get my stuff done and they'll still be there."

One of the hold-ups is that Henry still has work to do at Georgia Perimeter this summer. He'll be finishing up a few classes and won't be able to join his next team until just before the fall semester, in August. Henry will miss plenty of workout time with his new team, but he's still confident in what he's able to do on and off the court in catching up.

"There's nothing bad about staying a little longer to get my degree," he said. "That's the main objective of being a student-athlete, being a student first. Whatever I have to do, I'll do it, to get to the next level, knowing I've accomplished everything I need to. That's satisfaction enough."

Should something not work out with Texas Tech and Virginia Tech, Henry is developing other options. Though they've yet to offer, Missouri and Tennessee have both shown growing interests. But for now, Henry is looking solely on the Techs.

"As of now, I'm just focused on these two visits that I will be taking," he said. "I'm gonna keep them in my back pocket, knowing I have other options if things don't go well."