Not even Hendricks thought he would be 1-and-done, but ex-Calvary star goes 9th in NBA Draft
Not even Taylor Hendricks expected he would be a one-and-done player when he left Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian Academy to play for the UCF Knights last year. He had realistic NBA aspirations and expected to play a key role right away once he got to Orlando, he just figured it would take some time for professional scouts to fully take notice of the highest-ranked recruit in UCF history.
Instead, it only took a few months, and now he’s headed to the Utah Jazz as the No. 9 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft Thursday.
The 6-foot-8, 215-pound post player was part of the American Athletic Conference’s All-Freshman team and a second-team all-conference selection this season after averaging 15.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in his lone season with the Knights. He also shot 39.4 percent from three-point range and 47.8 percent from the field as one of the unlikely breakout stars of college basketball season.
Hendricks didn’t expect to be one-and-done, but Calvary grad is about to be lottery pick
His eventual development into an NBA player isn’t entirely stunning. He was a three-time state championship in high school — once as a freshman at Davie NSU University and then twice more at Calvary Christian — and the Miami Herald’s Broward County Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for Classes 4A-2A last year, and did wind up as the No. 67 overall prospect in the Class of 2022, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
What made his rise to become a lottery pick shocking is, instead, how quickly it happened. He didn’t become a top-100 prospect, according to 247, until midway through his senior year in Fort Lauderdale and only wound up with about a dozen scholarship offers, orally committing to UCF as a junior and sticking with his pledge despite offers from Miami, Florida State and Florida.
In Central Florida, Hendricks knew he would have a chance to play early and be even more of an offensive focal point than he was for the Eagles, who ran large swaths of their offense through star guards Marvel Allen and Carl Cherenfant. He started all 34 games, and led the Knights in both scoring and rebounding, and made nearly two three-pointers per game.
UCF also developed him on defense, and his ability to defend pick-and-rolls at his size is part of what initially made him attractive to NBA teams. It’s the area of growth Calvary Christian coach Cilk McSweeney pointed to as perhaps the biggest reason why he became a surprise lottery pick so quickly.
Hendricks’ arrival in the NBA is a major milestone for the Eagles, who are trying to become one of the premier programs in Florida. He’s the first Calvary Christian alumnus ever to get picked in the NBA Draft.
