Arizona offers Cedric Henderson Jr. the “big stage.”

Between the opportunity to work with a coach in Tommy Lloyd that Henderson seems to have great admiration for and play in an environment Henderson expects will be more raucous than Duke’s Cameron Indoor, it was awfully hard to say no to the Wildcats when they came calling.

Henderson, a transfer wing from Campbell, joined the program this offseason. He met with reporters earlier this week to share what that experience was like.

“It was really about the skill work and the fact that Tommy and (his staff) are so big on getting guys better and putting them in the league and playing as a team and winning,” Henderson said. “You can’t get past that and the pedigree of Arizona.”

He said the pedigree of the Arizona basketball program was hard to pass up.

Of course, it helps that such a strong program also has the right coach in place.

Henderson talked with point guard Kerr Kriisa on his visit. Kriisa told him Lloyd was a player’s coach, someone who would take the time to invest in his players and their personal development.

“There are not too many coaches, at least that I know of, that go in when you’re doing your individual workout just to see how it’s going and put his input in and tell you what you need to do,” Henderson said. “Then, he’s big on even in practice saying, ‘Hey, you’ve worked on this in your individuals, why not try it in practice and see how you feel with it.'”

Asked what position he expects to play, Henderson just smiled and said he’s “versatile.” Asked what role he expected to have, Henderson said he’d do whatever Lloyd asked him to do. Part of his basketball upbringing was impressing on him that if you’re not having a great shooting night, go be a great rebounder. If one part of the game is off, make it count elsewhere.

It stuck out that when he was asked what he’ll bring to the team, one of the first things Henderson mentioned was “a good cutter.” The pace of the game will be different at Arizona than it was at Campbell. Significantly so. He expects to be able to run more pick-and-rolls than he’s gotten to at this point in his career, but also said he’s become an effective cutter through playing in Campbell’s more halfcourt-oriented system.

One other thing worth mentioning: Henderson stands 6-foot-6.

A long-armed, versatile guard who can play up or down at multiple positions, who identifies the value of being a good cutter, who can handle the ball or work off it, who puts an emphasis on being a well-rounded teammate… Sounds like someone familiar, doesn’t it?

“I thought Dalen, the way he played, was really similar to my style,” Henderson said. “I really liked his game. When I saw how well they developed him, especially as a shooter. I mean, he took a great step forward this (past) year and, I mean, look, he made it to where everybody wants to be.”

Henderson said he expects to be a better shooter in the coming season than he was in the last — and he shot 38% last year. After a year of JUCO ball and three years at Campbell, Henderson wants to prove he can play at the highest level.

He got a taste last season when Campbell visited Duke. In that early-season contest, he scored 18 points and grabbed 11 boards.

“Finally playing on a big stage,” he said when asked what he remembers most about the game. “That was probably the biggest thing for me, was playing on national television and actually showing that I could play there.”

Should be plenty of chances to do that with the Wildcats this season.