LAS VEGAS – Jaden Henley bounced through three colleges before finishing his collegiate basketball career at Grand Canyon University. Basheer Jihad played three seasons at Ball State before playing his senior season at Arizona State.
Together, they gave the Detroit Pistons’ Summer League roster an Arizona college basketball flavor recently in Las Vegas.
“I just feel like I represent Arizona college ball, along with Grand Canyon,” Henley said. “GC doesn’t have a lot of players. It feels amazing, honestly, getting to do that at this level.”
Henley is playing on an Exhibit 10 deal, a contract that offers no guarantees beyond a training-camp invite.
Jihad, who is from Detroit, received an invite as an undrafted free agent following a strong rookie year with the College Park Skyhawks, the Atlanta Hawks’ G League affiliate.
“Obviously, it’s an audition every time you step on the court,” Henley said. “[I’m] kind of just enjoying every moment, but it’s a kid’s dream to play in the Summer League.”
That audition follows a college career followed by new experiences. Henley transferred multiple times before landing at Grand Canyon. He spent his early college career with Minnesota, DePaul and UNLV. Henley said the constant change of scenery prepared him for this moment.
“Pace-wise, I feel like it’s the same everywhere,” Henley said. “Everyone plays pretty fast. Moving to different places just gets you ready. You get to know different personalities.”
Jihad’s road has been longer. As a graduate transfer from Ball State, he arrived at Arizona State as a second-team All-MAC honoree who led the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding. That production gave him the confidence to play high-level ball in the Big 12.
“I know I didn’t do it at the highest level,” Jihad told Arizona Sports of his success at Ball State. “But it gives me confidence that I can.
“Those things I did at the mid-major level, they will translate ’cause it’s basketball at the end of the day.”
Jihad started 32 of 33 games for the Sun Devils in his lone season, averaging 12.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He went undrafted in 2025, signing with the Skyhawks.
In 34 games last season, he averaged 13.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game on 55% shooting. By chance, Jihad went for 33 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks against the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.
Former Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley spoke highly of Jihad’s all-round game.
“Shear’s got a very polished game at the offensive end around the basket,” Hurley told reporters. “Shear’s very skilled, knows how to play.”
Henley and Jihad never crossed paths in college, but the coincidence of landing on the same roster wasn’t a hitch for either of them.
“It was cool that we both ended up in a situation like this,” Henley said.
Pistons assistant coach Steve Scalzi, a former Phoenix Suns coach, noted a Grand Canyon connection through Pistons Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Dennis Lindsey in explaining how the front office noticed Henley.
“It felt kind of fated the way he came through,” he said. “If I had 10 or 12 of him, we could be a pretty good G League program.”
Scalzi said Henley’s pre-draft workout was the moment that sealed the relationship.
“He had a hell of a draft workout for us,” Scalzi said. “On draft night, I spoke to him and made sure we invited him.”
On the court, Scalzi described Henley as an aggressive, downhill driver.
“When it works, it works,” Scalzi said. “If it doesn’t, it might look ugly, but that’s because we are asking him to be like a downhill bowling ball. He’s always played that way. He’s done a lot of things in the past, but he’s also got a lot of room for improvement.”
Scalzi, the staff and organization treated the Summer League as an evaluation process rather than a verdict.
“It’s a results-driven business, but we’re still in a mini-season of discovery,” Scalzi said. “He’s got a long runway ahead, and we like him for the most part of our program.”
Part of that evaluation for both Henley and Jihad may look different because they were not sought-after prospects coming out of college, but Scalzi pointed to a simple metric.
“A lot of times you just assess improvement rate,” Scalzi said. “Guys who get better quickly are cool to see. (Henley’s) done a nice job getting better in the two weeks he’s been around.”
For Henley, the lessons the Pistons have taught him are about mindset.
“The biggest thing is to always understand what’s next,” Henley said. “Even though you have a good play or bad play, what’s next matters. So I take that with me.”
In Vegas, Henley and Jihad were doing the climbing together – two Arizona products auditioning for the same league in the same Las Vegas gym on the same team.
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