Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- chenry@ia.ua.edu
- Phone:
- 205-348-4551
Charlie Henry is in his third season as assistant coach at The University of Alabama. In addition to his time in Tuscaloosa, Henry has over 10 years of coaching experience on three major levels of basketball – NBA, G League and Division I power-five schools – including stops at the Chicago Bulls, Windy City Bulls and Iowa State, among others.
His tenure at Alabama marks the second time that he has worked with head coach Nate Oats, who gave Henry his start in the coaching profession as an assistant at Romulus High School in Detroit, Mich., during the 2009-10 season. Romulus finished the year at 21-2 and was ranked as high as No. 22 in the nation by USA Today.
“I’ve known Charlie for 10-plus years and gave him his first coaching job as my assistant coach at Romulus High School,” Oats said. “I’ve seen him climb the ladder. He works hard and has one of the sharpest minds around. I called him frequently while I was the coach at Buffalo to bounce ideas off him. He was an assistant coach in the NBA and head coach in the G League, so he has the knowledge of NBA concepts, but it’s also a big plus that was he in Division I at Iowa State for a few years so he has both sides.”
Henry’s input was made immediately evident as Alabama made tremendous strides on both ends of the floor. The Crimson Tide went from finishing 16-15 overall and 8-10 in the SEC during the 2019-20 season to 26-7 overall and 16-2 in the SEC during the 2020-21 historic season. With Henry’s assistance, Alabama swept both the SEC regular season, the program’s first since 2002, and tournament, first since 1991, championships, while becoming the only “Power 5” program to achieve the feat during the 2021 campaign.
The Crimson Tide would go on to finish the year ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll which matched the famed 1955-56 “Rocket 8” team for the highest final ranking in program history, while also matching single-season program records for total SEC wins in a season and highest NCAA seed (No. 2 seed). Furthermore, UA’s 26 overall wins were second-most in school history while the Sweet 16 appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tournament was the first for the Tide in 17 years.
Henry’s primary focus comes on the defensive side of the ball where he helped turn the Crimson Tide to one of the top defensive teams in the nation during the 2020-21 campaign. Led by SEC Defensive Player of the Year Herbert Jones, the first UA player to ever earn the honor, Alabama finished the year ranked No. 3 in the nation in defensive efficiency. That was a vast improvement after finishing the 2020 campaign ranked No. 114 in the same category, according to KenPom.com.
In league games only, Alabama boasted the most efficient defense in the SEC during the 2020-21 campaign, ranking first in field goal percentage defense (.398), three-point field goal percentage defense (.259), steals (8.9 spg) and defensive rebounds (28.8), second in steals (8.9) and fourth in scoring defense (70.1). Offensively, UA led the league in scoring offense (81.9), scoring margin (+11.8), three-point shooting (.378), threes made per game (11.4) and rebounding offense (40.7). In fact, the Tide held 13 of its 18 league opponents to under 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc in SEC play, 11 of which shot under 25 percent from deep.
Across his two seasons at the Capstone, Henry has coached three NBA Draft picks, including a pair of NBA Lottery selections in Joshua Primo (Drafted No. 12 overall by San Antonio in 2021) and Kira Lewis Jr. (Drafted No. 13 overall by New Orleans in 2020). Jones was also selected in the 2021 NBA Draft, going to the New Orleans Pelicans with the fifth pick of the second round (No. 35 overall).
Henry also played a big role in helping sign consecutive top-10 classes during his two seasons at the Capstone. The 2020 class was ranked No. 9 in the nation according to Rivals.com and No. 12 nationally by 247sports.com, while the 2021 class was ranked No. 9 by 247sports and No. 10 by Rivals.com.
Henry came to Tuscaloosa after spending two seasons (2017-19) as the head coach of the Windy City Bulls, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls. During his final season, Henry led his team to a 27-23 (.540) overall record, earning a spot in the playoffs for the first time and its first winning record in the franchise’s three-season history. While with Windy City, he coached second team All-NBA G League honoree Walter Lemon Jr., who would be called up to the Chicago Bulls on March 29. Additionally, Jakarr Sampson earned the team’s second call up on March 31.
His first campaign with Windy City was highlighted by Bulls’ two-way player Antonio Blakeney earning G League Rookie of the Year honors. Following the season, both Blakeney and Ryan Arcidiacono were converted to standard NBA contracts.
“I am so thrilled to be coaching alongside Coach Oats at The University of Alabama,” Henry said. “I have seen first-hand his commitment to building a program, the passion he has for developing young men, the effort his teams play with and the admiration his players have for him. My wife Teisha and I are ecstatic to be a part of the University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa community.”
Before earning his first career stint as a head coach, Henry spent two seasons (2015-17) as an assistant for the Chicago Bulls under Fred Hoiberg. During his two years in the NBA, Henry’s responsibilities included player development, opponent game preparation and implementation of offensive schemes, among other duties.
Prior to his time with Chicago, Henry was a member of Hoiberg’s coaching staff at Iowa State for three seasons, where his tenure was highlighted by three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament (2013-15), a Sweet 16 appearance (2014) and two Big 12 Conference Tournament championships (2014, 2015). During his final two seasons, the Cyclones posted a record of 53-17 (.757) and led the country in wins against top-25 teams. They were also one of two teams in the country to place in the top-15 in offensive efficiency every season from 2013-15.
The highlight of his tenure in Ames came in 2014-15 when Iowa State went 25-9 and finished second in the Big 12 with a 12-6 record. The Cyclones won their second consecutive Big 12 Tournament that season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. ISU, which was ranked in a school-record 37 consecutive polls, came in at No. 9 in the final Associated Press Top-25. Henry also spent time on the staff as the director of player development (2013-14) and graduate assistant (2012-13).
A native of Canton, Mich., Henry spent the 2011-12 season with the Indiana Pacers as a video intern. The Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals that season. In 2010-11, Henry was a graduate manager at Utah, assisting the video coordinator for the Runnin’ Utes.
Henry was a four-year member of the men’s basketball team at Madonna University (Mich.) and graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations. He received his master’s degree in educational leadership and policy study from Iowa State in 2014.
Henry is married to the former Teisha Knutson and the couple has a son, Nash, who was born in March, 2020.
