#9 Taylor Hendricks
Height: 6’9
Weight: 210
School: UCF
Position: PF/C
Class: Freshman
WHO
Although Taylor Hendricks attended a mid-major school in Central Florida, his high-school career had colleges like Memphis, Miami, Florida, Iowa State, and more calling. In his senior year, he was named the Broward County Player of the Year by the Miami Herald over players like the Thompson Twins. With Calvary Christian Academy, he rose to become a top-100 recruit and a consensus four-star recruit who was undoubtedly one of Florida’s best.
Thompson’s decision to go to a weaker school like UCF made big waves in the college world, as he became UCF’s highest-ranked recruit ever. Hendricks reportedly chose the Knights so he could play with his brother, Tyler, at the collegiate level. He saw a lot of the ball, and he got a lot of chances to impact the game. He showed his talent with crazy performances like his 25-point game in a defensive slog against Tulsa, or a monster double-double against East Carolina where he got 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Hendricks starred at college, carrying UCF to an NIT appearance, their first post-season appearance since 2019. He scored 15.1 points per game while adding 7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and a 39% three-point percentage.
During his time at Central Florida, Hendricks showed not just an impeccable shooting touch (he had a 78% free-throw rate alongside his three-point percentage), but also the potential to score on all three levels. He could throw the rock and handle it just as well.
Hendricks also showed a great defensive game. He blocks shots like they were volleyballs, but shows intelligence in recognizing rotations, and even the potential to pick up smaller guards on the pick-and-roll.
WHY
Hendricks was dominant in the AAC with UCF, and although he isn’t going up against pro players or even high-major teams, he still showed quality, both on paper and on the court. Hendricks proved to be both a silky shooter and a dominant paint presence, a powerful rebounder and an above-average passer, a graceful big man that can exceed in almost any big man role.
Taylor Hendricks goes to a mid-lottery pick in College Sports Madness’ mock draft, but some mock drafts place him as high as #5, and I can see why. His main problems; his unproven status and a perceived lack of creativity; can easily be solved with a season or two in the NBA. Hendricks could be a Rookie of the Year winner if things go his way. Teams like the Thunder, the Pacers, and the Pistons are all enthusiastic about Hendricks’ potential.
PRO SCOUT QUOTES
Hendricks is simultaneously one of the best (or at least most versatile) defenders in this draft class and one of the best outside shooters. At 6-foot-9, he can protect the rim and switch out to smaller players on the perimeter. He could be a positionless defender at the next level with the size, wingspan and lateral quickness to wreak havoc all over the court. Hendricks not only provides resistance, but he also forces turnovers as evidenced by his 2.6 stocks (steals and blocks) per game.
Chase Hughes, NBCSports Washington
Hendricks is a monster defensive prospect. He has immense length for being 6-foot-9 with something in the ballpark of a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He’s a good weakside rim protector. His sense of timing on that end is tremendous. He goes up mostly off two feet and is ready to meet his man at the rim with strong hands and a balanced center of gravity. On top of that, he has awesome anticipation for when his services are needed to clean up messes. He’s a terrific scrambler.
Sam Vecenie, The Athletic
Teams like to aim for high ceilings early in the draft. Hendricks is more of a high-floor bet who needs a team with an established playmaking engine and a strong foundation for ball movement and spacing. More importantly, most of those three-pointers were contested. Hendricks just shot over the contesting defenders with ease.
Chris Dodson, SI.com
At UCF he led the conference in total blocks and blocks per game with 59 rejections on the season and 1.7 blocks per game. That was more than fellow AAC top-10 prospect Jarace Walker. Those numbers gave him a 6.2 percent block percentage which was third in the conference. Also, among freshmen, he was sixth in box plus-minus with 7.1. Hendricks’ rim protection abilities will allow him to play a small-ball center role on top of both forward positions. In college, he used his ideal length to roam around the court and impact the game. He held a 97.2 defensive rating (9th in the conference) and was 6th in the conference in defensive win shares with 2.2.
Patrick Previty, OrlandoMagicDaily
He has great movement skills for a player his size and easily passes the eye test. He’s got more star potential than people realize.
NBADraftRoom
