Live blog: Ben Henshall backs WA to fire at Basketball Australia U16 National Championships

He went from left off the list at Under-16 level to a national MVP at Under-20s. Wildcats NBL recruit Ben Henshall knows how crucial the national championships are for young guns.

Ben Henshall is about to embark on an NBL career but, as the best U16 players prepare to show their wares at this week’s National Championships, the rookie Perth Wildcat has recalled the bitter rejection that helped spark his meteoric rise.

Henshall, 19, was named MVP of the U20 nationals earlier this year after leading his WA team to the championship, but it was the heartbreak of non-selection in his bottom-age year of U16s that was early fuel for his basketball development.

“I still remember it because the teams came out when we were at school and I thought I would maybe be in the running but I didn’t even make the squad, even as an emergency,” Henshall said.

“All my mates made it and it wasn’t a good feeling. But I developed heaps that year and made it the next year as a top ager.

“I didn’t want to miss it again.”

He didn’t, leading WA Metro to the 2021 U18 championship and catching the eye of coaches at Australia’s elite junior development program, the Centre of Excellence.

“It was huge, top age 18s, when we won it the first time, that was the first time I was scouted for anything and that’s how I picked up my offer to the Centre of Excellence,” the 19-year-old said.

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“That pathway through nationals opens a lot of doors for you if you can perform.”

Western Australia's Ben Henshall during the Under-20 National Championships. Picture: Chris Burd

Henshall is among the rare few to achieve a full NBL contract as a teenager and the kids who compete at this week’s nationals at Warwick Basketball Association in Perth will all have similar stars in their eyes as they take their first steps towards meaningful basketball careers.

“The main difference is just everyone’s bodies — in the U16s, you’re playing against guys who can be really good at the time, but I wasn’t great,” Henshall said.

“Then you see some guys who dominate in the 16s but don’t make those teams going forward.

“Guys develop over the years and become really good in the 20s, it’s really where you can see who is at that level.”

Henshall will be in Atlanta with the CoE competing at the NBA Academy Games during the tournament, but he’ll have one eye on what’s happening back home, with a particular interest in WA Metro’s Channing Olowoyo, a fellow product of the Willetton Senior High School basketball factory.

“I had a couple of workouts with him and he went to my school so I coached him a little bit,” he said.

“He’s come a long way already. He’s a leftie, he attacks hard, he can shoot, he’s a really well-rounded player.

“He’s aggressive, he’s going to get his buckets and he’s going to get guys involved.

“I’ll watch a couple of games in America, if I can, and I’ll see how the boys are tracking.”

Originally published as Live blog: Ben Henshall backs WA to fire at Basketball Australia U16 National Championships