Carl Joshua Henry, Jr. (born May 31, 1986) is an American former basketball and professional baseball player. Henry played in

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Bar ...

and

independent baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...

and in college for the

Southern Nazarene University Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as ...

men's basketball team.

Early life

Henry is the son of Carl Henry, Sr., a former professional basketball player. His younger brother is

Xavier Henry Xavier Henry (; born March 15, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks before he was drafted in the 2010 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. Henry's brother, ...

. Henry attended

Putnam City High School Putnam City High School (commonly, PC, Putnam City Original, and PCO) is a secondary school located in Warr Acres, Oklahoma, a northwestern suburb of metropolitan Oklahoma City, U.S.. It is one of three high schools in the Putnam City School Dis ...

in Oklahoma City, where he starred at basketball and baseball. He was named to the 2005

USA Today All-USA high school baseball team Each year, ''USA Today'', an American newspaper, awards outstanding high-school baseball players with a place on its All-USA High School Baseball Team. The newspaper names athletes whom they believe to be the best baseball players from high schoo ...

and became a top prospect. He was also heavily recruited as a point guard and committed to play for the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

team on May 19, 2005, choosing the Jayhawks over

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Baseball

Henry was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

in the first round (17th overall) of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

and signed, receiving a $1.6 million bonus. He played for the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

and

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. ...

, before being traded by the Yankees to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

in the deal that sent

Bobby Abreu Bob Kelly Abreu (; ; born March 11, 1974), nicknamed "El Comedulce" and also "La Leche", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Ya ...

and

Cory Lidle Cory Fulton Lidle (March 22, 1972 – October 11, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Lidle played in Major League Baseball with the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue ...

to the Yankees. Henry played for the

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locati ...

of the Phillies' organization, but was released following the season. The Yankees re-signed Henry, assigning him to the Class-A Advanced

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Coun ...

for the season. In 272 minor-league games, Henry hit .222 and made 57 errors. Following his continuing baseball struggles, Henry left baseball and returned to basketball.

Basketball

Henry was a walk-on for the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...

in fall 2008, as the Yankees were responsible for his college tuition. He redshirted for the 2008-09 season. Henry's brother, Xavier, was a top recruit by

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College ...

to attend Memphis beginning in the 2009-10 year. However, when Calipari left to accept the coaching job for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,47 ...

, the Henry brothers decided to commit to the Kansas Jayhawks, with Xavier released from his letter of intent with Memphis, and C. J. transferring. C. J. was a redshirt freshman at Kansas in the 2009-10 year, and he was eligible to play for the 2009-10 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. On August 27, 2010, NAIA school

announced that Henry had transferred there. He became a starter and the team's leading scorer in the 2010-11 season. , -

References

External links

Scout profile: C.J. HenryC. J. Henry - Basketball Recruiting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, C. J. Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Charleston RiverDogs players Gulf Coast Yankees players Lakewood BlueClaws players Tampa Yankees players African-American basketball players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm men's basketball players Basketball players from Oklahoma 1986 births Living people Evansville Otters players American men's basketball players Point guards 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people