Crown Point senior Kolby Henderlong has gone his own way in sports.

Much of Henderlong’s family has excelled in soccer, but he has made his mark in basketball. The 6-foot-5 forward is the top reserve for the Bulldogs, who have won back-to-back regional titles.

“We got great news about him,” Crown Point coach Clint Swan said. “He’s going to play in college, which was his dream. He’s wanted to do that since he was little.”

Henderlong, who committed to Milwaukee School of Engineering last week, has played no small part for the Bulldogs (22-2). He’s averaging 4.8 points and 1.8 rebounds as Crown Point, which is ranked No. 4 in the Class 4A poll by The Associated Press, prepares to play Homestead (22-5) in the semifinals of the Elkhart Semistate on Saturday.

“I strive in things that aren’t showed on the stat sheet, just like loose balls, communicating on defense, making sure my teammates are together,” Henderlong said. “Coming off the bench, making sure I bring a spurt of energy, especially if we start off with low energy.

“I just make sure I’m doing everything, all the little details that no one really pays attention to but are so important to the game.”

Henderlong has played more minutes than any other reserve. But Swan doesn’t even make that distinction.

“He has just been so steady for us,” Swan said. “There are a lot of guys in his shoes who would think, ‘Well, I’m not starting, so I’m not as valuable as some other guys.’ But it’s never been an issue for him.

“He plays starter minutes for us. His role is no less important than any starter that we have. He has embraced that role and just been terrific for us.”

Henderlong and forward Quinn Begley, the only other senior on the roster, are captains with junior guard/forward Dikembe Shaw and junior guard Kingston Rhodes.

“Kolby is a vocal leader,” Swan said. “Kolby is very much involved in everything we do. He’s such a good leader. He does so many good things for us on and off the court.”

Begley understands Henderlong’s value.

“He contributes more than he knows,” Begley said. “I’ve known him since elementary school, and he was always the most energetic guy on the team. He did the work that nobody wants to do. Nobody wants to go dive on loose balls, especially in practice. You don’t want to get that little scar right here (on one’s side). But he’ll do it.”

Henderlong takes his status as a senior seriously.

“We have to step up more,” he said. “We had five guys last year, so the leadership was more distributed. We have to take on more. We have to make sure the team is working hard, communicating, making sure that each day we’re productive and getting better each day.”

Henderlong’s mother Natalie, sister Malorie and brother Karsen all played soccer for Crown Point. Karsen Henderlong, a 2019 Crown Point graduate, continued his career at Xavier and Indiana and plays professionally. Malorie Henderlong, a 2016 Crown Point graduate, played at Eastern Illinois and Spring Arbor, where she won the 2017 NAIA national championship. She has been a strength and conditioning coach at several high-profile colleges, including her current position at Auburn.

Two of Kolby Henderlong’s aunts and two of his uncles played soccer at St. Joseph’s College, and his father Jon played football, basketball and baseball at Crown Point before playing football and baseball at Wabash.

Kolby Henderlong played soccer until sixth grade. He returned to the sport as a sophomore during the 2022 season and ended up being the Bulldogs’ starting goalkeeper for their last six games, including sectionals.

“I quit to focus on basketball,” he said. “I liked basketball more. I just wanted to choose a different path. I went with basketball. I think it’s worked out pretty well.”