John Henson had grown comfortable with his fame until he learned of his global reach.
The Sickles High star was one of the United States' most high-profile basketball recruits before signing a national letter of intent with North Carolina in November. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams attended Henson's last high school game and consoled him in the locker room afterward with a hug.
But nothing had really jolted the McDonald's All-American until he received a fan letter from a guy in Japan claiming to be, of all things, a Duke alumnus.
"It said, 'I went to Duke and I'm a big fan,' " Henson said. "It was airmailed over here. It was crazy. It had a Japanese address and all that kind of stuff. It's wild to think I have a fan all the way over there."
Henson, 18, represents a portion of promising high school athletes learning to adjust to a widening national and international spotlight. Virtually anyone can learn more about elite-level high school athletes thanks to televised high school games, recruiting Web sites and expanded media coverage online.
That celebrity and the mere possibility a kid could one day blossom into a superstar has created a hunger for any piece of perceived memorabilia.
"Is there value, yes," said Dan Lawrence of Memorabilia Magic, a Tampa company specializing in authentic autographed sports and celebrity items. "People are always looking for stuff like this. It's like a stock; you hope to buy it at a low price and sell it at a high price. You can get stuff from these kids in high school and hope it will go up when they make it in the NBA, if and whenever that happens.
"The problem is it doesn't have a lot of value until they get to that point. Right now, it's just sort of suspect. There's a lot of kids going to North Carolina, and when one's gone, another one comes in."
Some might recall vividly the images of LeBron James playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio, televised by ESPN2. Since then, ESPN has significantly increased its coverage of high school sporting events, and companies like Nike have outfitted programs like Armwood with apparel.
Fans see the potential with local stars and make countless requests to latch onto what one day could be a priceless artifact.
"You would have to say the value has increased with the amount of coverage high school sports gets," Plant High football coach Robert Weiner said. " … We have kids that have become national high school football players, so we get letters all the time from little kids around the country. They'll send a football card and ask for an autograph. You would think there's probably some kind of market out there."
One of James' non-game-worn high school jerseys recently had an asking price of $2,500 on eBay. One of his autographed high school photos was going for $699.
Henson said he can't walk through a shopping mall without posing for at least one photograph. Mail arrives almost daily at Sickles, most containing autograph requests. After games, Henson has given away wristbands, towels and even his mouthpiece. One time he autographed a guy's arm.
Of the more than 100 floorboards Henson has signed, one is available on eBay with an opening bid of $29.99.
"They make special cards with a picture of me and special designs," Henson said. "I have one card with a UNC background and a picture of me dunking. It was nice."
Henson said he believes most requests are for individual fans, and he refuses to honor requests if he believes the item will be sold for someone else to profit.
But there's no telling what that Sickles jersey he wore in his final game would go for on Tobacco Road.
Dressed for success
At Central High in Brooksville, athletic director Jeff Spivey believes he might have some items of interest. He has five game-worn Central jerseys from former basketball star Alex Ruoff, who just completed his collegiate career at West Virginia.
Spivey hopes to auction the jerseys on eBay, with Ruoff's blessing, and has no clue how much they could fetch. He said any money would go to Central's athletic department.
Spivey began collecting the jerseys when he realized Ruoff was an exceptional talent and he sensed a demand for jerseys. Companies such as Mitchell & Ness have made a fortune redesigning rare jerseys of famous athletes.
"You don't have to pay real close attention to know people are wearing replica jerseys," Spivey said. "You go to football games and everyone has a jersey on. If they want the replicas, they might want the real thing."
At Plant, Weiner said high school games have a "pro football feel," specifically when kids walk off the field. Fans often line up and beg players for a bone.
"We have a line of kids asking for towels, wristbands or gloves," Weiner said. "Gloves are a little expensive to give away in high school. … I'm sure it's that way at Lakeland or St. Thomas Aquinas."
Weiner has jerseys of former All-America quarterbacks Aaron Murray and Robert Marve but hasn't considered selling them.
"For the most part, it's just a sentimental part of our program," Weiner said. "We never really think about it that way."
Izzy Gould can be reached at izzygould@gmail.com or (813) 226-3458.
News
