One. That’s how many 3-pointers Francess Henry had in league games last year for Midwood. Then a sophomore, the 5-foot-10 wing was sparsely used off the bench.
But something happened this past summer while she was playing AAU with Team Mike Moore. Henry would take 500 jump shots in practice. And they started to go in %u2013 by the bucket load.
“I think Franny is the most improved player [in the city] right now,” said Beranda Felder, her teammate on Midwood and Team Mike Moore.
Her emergence has been undeniable for the Hornets. Henry had four 3-pointers in losses against Thomas Jefferson and McKee/Staten Island Tech and three versus Moore Catholic and Bishop Loughlin. She’s almost automatic from the corner, which Midwood senior center Jewel Tunstull calls “her spot.”
“She has great range,” Hornets coach Artie LaGreca said.
Henry, who is averaging 11.6 points per game in PSAL Brooklyn AA Group 1 games, said it’s almost more of a mental thing than a physical one. The repetition over the summer gave her confidence and it has since snow balled.
“It’s like as soon as the ball leaves my hand, I try to trust my jump shot, that it’ll go in,” she said. “I try to make it basically second nature. %u2026 I loved shooting before that, but over the summer it just developed even more.”
Tunstull, who also played for Team Mike Moore, said she has seen improvement in Henry’s shooting even since the summer. Felder said she saw this coming and has been telling LaGreca since the preseason that Henry needs to play significant minutes.
“I’ve been in his ear,” Felder said with a laugh. “Her shot is tremendous now. Kids are like, where did she come from?”
LaGreca said he saw glimpses of Henry’s ability last year, but not really as a shooter. He liked her length, athleticism and shot blocking. Henry continues to be a strong defender %u2013 the coach put her on Loughlin star Tayshana (Chicken) Murphy on Sunday at the South Shore Invitational with solid results (19 points).
She’s far from just a shooter, LaGreca says. She can finish around the basket and has a solid handle, too. Henry’s emergence, and the return of Tunstull from a hip injury, could make Midwood a very dangerous team moving forward.
“Because she has range like that, she’s starting to put the ball on the floor and go by people,” LaGreca said. “That creates better things. If people have to defend her behind the line, it opens up the middle for Jewel. It opens up the middle for Beranda. Little by little, things are starting to come together.”
With Henry, it hasn’t happened little by little. Her strides have come in leaps and bounds. LaGreca is quick to bring up Jessica Previlon, another player who didn’t play her first two varsity seasons, but ended up being one of the city’s best last year as a senior. Previlon, who garnered Division I interest, is playing now at Monroe, a junior college in The Bronx, averaging 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game %u2013 both team bests.
“Do I think she’s going to be a really good player by her senior year like Jess was? Yes,” LaGreca said. “I have a lot of confidence in Franny. Franny needs to have a lot of confidence in Franny. Each game it’s growing more and more.”
