Fans don’t need a scorebook to tell when Henry Domercant is playing a great game.

When that happens, Domercant flashes a smile the size of Naperville, his hometown and the state’s third largest city.

Win or lose, Domercant’s the cool guy in the gym. He’ll flash a grin visible to those sitting behind the giant video screens in Lantz.

He carries a smile Miss America’s sister, Alexandra Harold, couldn’t resist. The pair has dated for more than two years.

“I saw her there on the volleyball team one day, and I thought, ‘Wow,'” Domercant said. “So I went up to her and worked a little of my magic, and through patience and persistence, it worked.”

Domercant has another accomplishment to smile about – he’s this year’s Daily Eastern News Male Athlete of the Year.

But Domercant can’t stop smiling and he has given Panthers fans plenty to beam about.

“I truly believe with Henry that we have a hero in our midst,” said Panther head coach Rick Samuels, who also said he would shed a tear after Oh Henry played his last home game. “Henry is special. His charisma is special and everything else about him is just special.”

Panther fans still smile about the night he dropped 46 points on Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn. They can’t stop talking about how he held his own against Illinois, Florida and Marquette this year. Fans longed for the next time he would hit a three-pointer so T-shirts and O’Henry candy bars could be launched their way. Fans carry nothing but awe when they talk about how he beat Jay Taylor’s school record for points scored before his senior season’s halfway mark.

Domercant shows nothing but gratitude for those fans. He’d like to build them a statue.

“It’s great that they regard me so highly,” Domercant said. “And I’ve felt very honored and blessed to have their support.”

While Lantz Arena remains quiet for the off-season, Domercant can’t stop going there. Local lore says O’ Henry takes 500 shots at 8 a.m., another 500 at practices and a few hundred more after practice.

“I don’t know if it’s that many,” Domercant said while flashing another smirk.

Domercant started the grueling routine at midnight and developed gym rat pack.

“When I started I was by myself, but we had a few come in the morning and we had a ‘night club,'” Domercant said. “We said we’d shoot the lights out because we were at the rec until they turned the lights out on us.”

The tireless training paid off and Domercant ranks among NCAA’s upper echelon of players. He, Larry Bird and Pete Marovich are the only three to be ranked in the nation’s top five scoring list for three years.

But before then, the fanfare wasn’t as loud. Domercant didn’t have a breakout year at Naperville North during his junior year, but caught the attention of Eastern and he signed. During his senior year at North, he led the Chicago area in scoring and drew attention from schools in the Southeastern Conference. He said he doesn’t regret his early signing.

“I figure God wanted me at Eastern for a reason,” said Domercant, who wore shoes with the words, “For God’s glory” written on them with a sharpee while he played.

Despite a strong showing in a camp at Portsmouth, Va., national analysts aren’t all smiles about his future.

Critics say Oh-no to Henry because he didn’t create enough of his own shots during the course of the season and the market for a 6-foot-4 power forward is narrowing by the minute in what has become a big man’s NBA.

Domercant can smile at his detractors too.

“That was just the nature of our offense – I didn’t have to go make my own shots,” he said. “I feel that when it’s time to show I can do that, I’ll have the utmost confidence that I can create my own shot.”

Many prognosticators, including his teammate, junior forward Jesse Mackinson, said Domercant would be a middle-to-late second round draft pick.

“His work ethic is the biggest thing and I think it’s inspired a lot of his teammates,” Mackinson said. “

Domercant has narrowed his agent search to two candidates and said he’d make a final decision by week’s end.

He could go the way of former teammate Kyle Hill, who was picked in the second round (44th overall) of the 2001 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Hill plays in a France league where he was named the league’s most valuable player.

While Domercant isn’t in a hurry to learn a new language, he said he could see himself playing overseas.

“Kyle doesn’t speak French, so I know that would be tough,” Domercant said. “But Europe is definitely plan B.”

The lack of credit Domercant receives nationally bothers Samuels.

“The people who didn’t come out on a nightly basis have definitely missed something,” Samuels said. “They’ve missed the consistency and good sportsmanship each night.”

If it all falls away and Domecant wakes up tomorrow with knees swollen to the size of Coles County, he has a backup plan.

“I’m really into music, so I’d like to do something with that,” he said. “I’m into hip-hop and I write poetry.”

Samuels and many close to Domercant could see plan C come to life. Domercant has a Yogi Berra-like list of sayings at the ready and was dubbed a “Zen master” by a local media outlet. But Oh Henry said the Zen stops here and will always play “for God’s glory.”

“I had a high school coach who gave us a quote every week and I just remembered them all,” Domercant said. “I carry all of that with me.”

Samuels said Oh Henry’s willingness to be “one with the rims” could carry the stuff movies are made of.

“Henry will be successful in anything he decides to pursue whether it be the business world or whatever,” Samuels said. “In fact, we may see Henry in Hollywood some day.”