<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Alan Henderson came into his first training camp as a 76er with no delusions of grandeur, but he knows his value to the team might be as great as those who will score most of the points or grab much of the attention. During their disappointing 2005-06 season, the Sixers learned that an NBA team can never have too many veterans. So it was no coincidence that their only significant free-agent signing in the off-season was that of the 33-year-old Henderson, being relied upon for leadership in his 12th season. "It's always nice to be looked at as a good influence in the locker room," Henderson said yesterday. "You're trying to do things the right way, play the right way throughout your career, treat people the right way. So I'm going to try to encourage the guys, work hard in practice, and just try to be a good, positive teammate." And, by the way, have a good attitude. Although he went through the entire year healthy, the 6-foot-9 Henderson played in just 51 games last season with Cleveland. The forward's minutes with the Sixers figure to be just as limited this season. But when he shopped around for teams in the summer, he felt the Sixers would be the best situation for him despite some negative things he may have heard about them. "Being from the outside, you hear different stories, hear grumbling throughout the league about what's going on on different teams," said Henderson, who has averaged 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in his career. "But I got here, and there's good guys on this team. There's no reason that we can't all work together for a common goal of winning games. "... We're working on everybody trusting the system and trusting each other so we can have a much better year than the Sixers had last year." An acquisition such as Henderson brings a smile to the face of another veteran, Chris Webber, 33, who likes having Henderson and former Temple star Rick Brunson, 34, on his bench as well as Kevin Ollie, 33. "You cannot underestimate their leadership," Webber said. "We needed that last year. Allen [Iverson] is playing 40 minutes a game, so he can't come on the side and tell a young guy how to do this. I'm playing, and I can't come and tell a young guy. "Their importance is just as important as me and Allen. That's what everybody has to realize. We're going to get a lot of credit, but that doesn't equate to importance. The importance is the whole team and every role that you have. So without Rick and Alan and those guys, we won't be successful unless they're here telling everybody what they've done." Henderson said the key is building a trust with teammates and knowing how to "critique them in the right way." When coach Maurice Cheeks heard that comment, he quipped, "He has my job, then." "He'll pull guys to the side and talk to them," Cheeks said. "He shows out on the court the way certain things should be played. It's a different type of veteran leadership. Some guys are a lot more vocal. Certainly, he's not that way, but at times, he'll pull guys over and offer his opinion to them." Henderson carries some impressive credentials. The son of a cardiologist, he graduated from Indiana with a degree in biology and was accepted to medical school at the university "just in case things [in the NBA] didn't go as I had planned," he said. As for whether he will pursue a career in medicine after his playing days are over, Henderson said that "different weeks, you'll get a different answer from me." "They told me they'd hold my spot for as long as I wanted them to," he said. "I still want to play a little bit longer, and then I'll just kind of sit back and see if it's something I want to go through. I've had a lot of buddies go through it and they tell me, 'Don't do it,' because of how hard they work and how long the hours are. But it's something I have to decide." </div> Link
