GUY The entire student body of Guy-Perkins witnessed the high school's third college signing of the year Wednesday afternoon in the Thunderbird Complex.
Denesha Henderson, a former member of the Lady Thunderbirds' basketball team that finished runners-up in the state tournament, decided to continue her playing days for a Gulf South Conference powerhouse, Delta State University.
"Once I stepped out of the car, then I knew where I was going to school at," Henderson said. "I just love the campus there. It reminds me of home. I liked the coaches there."
Two weeks ago, former teammate Nakeia Guiden signed with the University of Central Arkansas and three weeks prior, Tommy Sue Shirley signed with Ecclesia College.
"We are fortunate to have three," Hutchcraft said. "We were also fortunate to have a girl like Denesha to go to school here. Her mom and Wefus Tyus, one of our school board members was here, so it was something that we didn't expect. I never met her until she walked through the door. She's just an exciting player."
Henderson's mother, Denise Tyus, has been her biggest supporter through the years and no one will "miss her" more than she will.
"It's just pretty exciting that she has been blessed with the talent to have her higher education paid for," Tyus said. "I'm going to be left at home with just the boys. She's the one that takes care of business around the house. It'll be interesting to see how it is when she's gone. I'm sure we'll be on the phone daily."
Wefus Tyus echoed some of the same words that his wife spoke.
"She worked hard this year but she was kind of worried because she didn't know if she was going to get a scholarship or not," he said. "It went down to the last minute, then Delta State contacted her. Everything worked out well to be able to a school of that caliber. Coach did a good job of working with all of the girls. They went to camp together and won some tournaments. They had a great year."
Besides making it to the Class A state-title game, Guy-Perkins girls' biggest feat may have been winning the Arkansas' Best Tournament against teams in a higher classification, including Class 5A's back-to-back state champion, Camden Fairview.
"She was a big part in making Nakeia win (the MVP award) in the Arkansas' Best Tournament," Hutchcraft said. "We were really blessed to have a girl of that caliber here at Guy-Perkins. Denesha is such a good athlete and I do want to mention track. With her jumping ability and her quickness, I believe that she's a bigtime player."
