The uncompromising ambition of Scoot Henderson

SCOOT HENDERSON WILL have to earn his buckets the hard way tonight, it seems.

At the Gateway Center in College Park, Georgia, there are almost 1,500 people scattered around the arena's 3,500 seats, some with their legs hanging down onto the seat in front of them, and at least two people stretched out horizontally across multiple seats. It's quiet enough to hear the symphonic nuances of the game with alarming clarity: The squeaky starts and stops of sneakers; the trash talk; the frustrated exchanges between teammates; and also the ferocity of a foul. One that, in this specific case, sends Henderson crashing to the floor, relaying a small echo throughout the arena.

It's early March, and the G…