According to multiple sources, the Texas Longhorns have extended a new offer in the 2013 recruiting class. Power forward Demetrius Henry from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Faith Baptist Christian is the recipient. The news was broken by he Twitter feed of his AAU squad, Team Breakdown.
Breakdown Demetrius Henry was offered by Texas tonight. He is averaging 21pts, 12 rebs, n 3 blocks for Faith Baptist twitter.com/TeamBreakdown/…
— Team Breakdown(@TeamBreakdown) December 14, 2012
Henry is ranked 102nd nationally in the 247 Composite rankings. He has officially visited the Illinois Fighting Illini, Clemson Tigers, and Rutgers Scarlet Knights. According to Will Gunter of 247 Sports, Henry's favorites are Rutgers and Clemson along with the Miami Hurricanes, South Carolina Gamecocks, and South Florida Bulls.
The offer to Henry looks like a long shot for Texas, given how far Henry has already pursued his recruitment. More concerning is the assumption that Texas may be looking to hedge its recruitment of five-star forward Julius Randle. Though the Longhorns are arguably the public favorite for Randle, there is speculation that a continuation of Texas' disappointing season will drop the Longhorns in Randle's eyes.
As for Henry, his scouting report lists his strengths as a high-energy rebounder and capable spot shooter. In that vein, he sounds like an asset in the mold of Jonathan Holmes, though certainly not the program-changer that a player like Randle would be. For now, we'll keep monitoring Henry's recruitment.