"A sure sign of intelligence is knowing what you don't know. Gerald Henderson gets that.

"With my game, there are so many things to work on. And I'm ready to work on them," the Charlotte Bobcats' lottery pick said Friday. "I know I'll put the work in. I know the way to be a pro."

That's partially because he's been around so many of them. His father, also named Gerald, played in the NBA. One of his best friends from high school is the son of Randy Ayers, an NBA assistant. That allowed Henderson to watch Philadelphia 76ers practices as a kid.

And it's hard to play three seasons at Duke without running into few pro basketball players.

So he promises he'll be ready and he needs to be; the Bobcats drafted him, in part, because they need a reliable backup to Raja Bell at shooting guard. Henderson has every chance to be a rotation player immediately.

The most obvious thing for Henderson to improve is his shooting range. He shot 33percent from the college 3-point line, and that won't cut it in the NBA.

"I'll improve on it, no question," Henderson said. "My shooting will be fine."

At No.12, Henderson went right in the middle of the range he anticipated. He said he had a chance to go eighth - to the New York Knicks - and had been assured by the Chicago Bulls that they would have chosen him if he lasted to No.16."