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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 68 stemmed from Henry's desire to play sports; as a youth, Henry's dad Tom coached everything, ensuring his old- est son would get a chance to partici- pate. Frequently, that was with young- er brother Ethan, on the soccer team, where Henry would use an adapted tricycle to get out on the field, and in tee ball, where dad would push Hen- ry's wheelchair around the bases. "It would have been really easy for a younger brother to be embarrassed or not want his older handicapped sibling around," Tom Dukes said of Ethan, an exceptional athlete who went on to play college football. "All of Ethan's age-peer friends on the teams, every- body was high fiving and fist-pumping Henry, and Ethan was the first to in- clude him and bring him in." It was in sports that Henry's abili- ties with numbers, statistics and recall became apparent. In a conversation, he'll tell about Purdue's free throw shooting from the night before, when the Boilermakers hit "10 of 12" in the first half before they went south in the second. A dozen years ago, he won an NCAA Tournament pool at Tamara Dukes' work, besting 100 or so others, after choosing the correct teams to advance. He particularly labored over those pes- ky 8-9 first-round matchups, but must have gotten enough correct. Watching the Red Sox years ago — the Dukes lived just outside Boston until a couple years ago, when they moved to Lafayette — David Ortiz doubled, to which Henry immediate responded "that's his 27th of the sea- son." It was. And the Dukes sat back, surprised that Henry was capable of that kind of depth of knowledge. "We really think it's like a savant thing," Tamara Dukes said. "Because, seriously, there's no explanation for it. Henry's not blowing up the IQ charts. Any test that you look at, he scores poorly, and yet you'll have a conversa- tion with him and just be blown away by the level of things that he'll re- member. He doesn't remember every- thing — he's not a robot — but he'll look back and the conclusions that he draws and then can back up with data, I think is what is so remarkable." It's those qualities that made Henry a natural fit for the Boilermakers. He has a high school certificate and work experience too, having helped coach an eighth grade basketball team for seven years during his time living in New England. More recently, he was a manager for the McCutcheon High School girls team. But Henry's interview with Versyp and Kix presented a huge opportuni- ty, a chance to break in to sports man- agement, his ideal profession. "After about a 20-minute conver- sation, we offered him the assistant director of operations," Kix said, a lengthy title that shocked Henry. "He was just so appreciative and thrilled." The details of the job where still to be worked out back then, as everyone looked to determine where Henry's skills could be best utilized. But as the season has gone by, he's settled into a good role. He's active on Twitter and social media, promoting the program. Video coordinator Tim Bertsch set up Henry's personal computer with a pro- gram that allows him to watch all the Big Ten games, giving him a chance to scout upcoming opponents. And he'll offer suggestions to Versyp and Co. He's the Boilermakers' unofficial free throw coach. At the end of prac- tices, players line up at the stripe, with Henry motoring out to join. At one of the hoops, players hold the ball out for him to touch, then go into their shooting routines; meanwhile, Henry simulates the follow-through, imagining nothing but net. "I go out there and shoot with them," he said. "The thing that I don't understand is that we do fine when I'm out in practice, and I don't know why we can't always translate it to the game itself." It's been that kind of season. The results have been below par, but not all is lost. During the Christ- mas break, the Dukes invited the Boilermakers, players and staff, over for dinner. There, they saw Henry's set up, a wing of the house that serves as a bit of an apartment, with a bedroom, its TV set to ESPN, and bathroom, cus- tomized to fit his needs. And sports memorabilia, lots of that. There's a pair of shoes, signed by one of the eighth grade teams he coached. And a signed picture of former Patriot and Boilermaker Matt Light — maybe the perfect athlete for a fan of both teams — personalized for Henry. Clemons' picture, part of Purdue's schedule poster, adorns the door, look- ing over Henry as he works at his com- puter. There, Henry's good right hand operates the mouse, quickly clicking through the Internet, loading up pag- es to check out the next opponent. During the Boilermakers' visit over Christmas, Versyp asked Henry what he thought about his new job. "Best job in the world," he said. j