Making His Own Name : Kenyth Michael Henry Tunes Up at Valley College

Music, so resonant it nearly made the car shake, escaped through open windows and turned the surroundings into an open-air concert.

The car stopped outside the Valley College gym and the driver, his head covered with a baseball cap turned fashionably backward, leaned out to talk with friends.

How Kenyth Michael Henry, basketball standout and fun-loving guy, and the others could even hear their voices is, well, beyond words.

And this was mild, Henry said, compared to his usual boom box on wheels. This was a loaner car ill-equipped to compete, in stereo components or otherwise, with the black Camaro Z-28 he shares with his mother, Willie. That one was in the shop for repairs and Henry could hardly wait to get it back.

“I’ve put some 12-inch speakers in the rear and some 6-by-9s in the front and I like to drive around the school blasting my music,” said Henry, who plays forward for Valley. “All the girls like that. I like hip-hop, rap, jazz, R&B.;”

Henry also loves hoops. He digs his pals. And he is definitely fond of his full name, the one with the three first names his mother said would make him feel special.

The affable 6-foot-2 sophomore, an El Camino Real High graduate, seems to have life in perspective and can distinguish between the important and the inconsequential. He is 19 and in no hurry to get older.

“I like to have fun. I like to go to a party here and there,” Henry said. “I’m a kidder. In high school, I was voted class clown in my junior and senior years.”

But don’t confuse Henry’s effervescence with frivolity. On the court, even while wearing knee-high socks and the baggy shorts now in vogue, Henry is all business. The only joke he wants to play on Valley’s opponents is to scorch them with his shooting.

In two of his last three games, Henry was particularly effective, although he couldn’t help the Monarchs win them all. He led all scorers with 27 points in a 96-77 victory over Bakersfield in a Western State Conference South Division game Feb. 11 and had a team-high 22 points in an 82-70 loss to Santa Monica four days later. Henry leads the Monarchs in scoring with a 13.8 average (17.4 in division play).

The Monarchs (19-12, 8-2 in the division), runners-up to Santa Monica in the South, will open play in the Southern California regional Friday night at home against Rio Hondo (15-15). Henry has been instrumental in getting them there.

His growth as a basketball player has been steady, although some maintain that the skills were always there.

The recognition was not.

At El Camino Real, Henry shared the court with high-profile teammates Markee Brown, Sam Sarpong and Charles Adams. They grabbed the headlines while Henry performed quietly. He averaged 13.9 points and 9.0 rebounds in his senior season and carried a 3.6 grade-point average, but wasn’t recruited by many four-year schools. That left the door open for Valley Coach Doug Michelson.

“He is a classic sleeper,” Michelson said. “I saw three things I really liked in Kenyth. One was his obvious physical ability. I also spoke with Neils Ludlow, his high school coach, and he chronicled his academic achievements. And the third thing was his character and solid values.

“The kids respect him as a person and as a player. He just does some zany things.”

Henry transferred to El Camino Real from Washington High after the ninth grade. He lives with his mother in South Central Los Angeles, about one block from childhood friend Brown, and commutes to Valley. Henry said he didn’t have to think long about switching high schools after watching a drive-by shooting one day.

“I was playing on the outdoor basketball courts and I saw this dude trying to jump the fence and ditch school, and some gang bangers shot him up,” Henry said. “The next day, I asked for transfer papers and left the school at the end of the year.”

After El Camino Real, Henry opted for Valley.

“Of all the JCs, this one was the one that was recruiting me hard,” Henry said. “I had heard about Coach Michelson and he made me feel like I was wanted.”

Comedy act and all.

Last season, Michelson’s first with the men’s team after several successful seasons coaching the women’s team, Henry averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds and was one of the bright spots on a team that finished 11-19. The Monarchs struggled but Henry was able to showcase his talent. Even as a budding gymnast.

“Against Glendale, in a high-intensity game, he threw a front flip right on the court,” Michelson said. “It was just unbridled enthusiasm.”

It also was, Brown said, vintage Henry. The two remain close even though Brown is now a starting guard on the powerful L.A. City team that is ranked No. 2 in the state behind Ventura. They hang out with each other and with Sarpong, now a professional rapper, or Adams, who is a redshirt at Valley this season after transferring from L.A. City.

Brown said he has been laughing at Henry’s antics since grade school.

“Kenyth has always been a joker,” Brown said. “He’s a real fun guy. He’s just a fun person to be around. He’s also a very nice person, a very intelligent person. . . . When we played together in high school, he was just in our shadow. Now he is out of our shadow and doing well.”

Well enough that Henry is getting attention from Division I schools.

“He’s definitely going someplace,” Michelson said.

Stereo equipment and all.