Taylor Hendricks

Taylor Hendricks (born November 22, 2003) is an American basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCF Knights. As a freshman, he was a Second-team All-AAC and AAC All-Freshman Team selection. He was a three-time Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSSA) champion.

Hendricks grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and initially attended NSU University School. The 2018–19 University team with, which included Vernon Carey Jr., Scottie Barnes, Jace and Jett Howard, successfully defended its FHSSA Class 5A State championship with a victory over Andrew Jackson High School, despite Carey being sidelined for the championship game. He transferred to Calvary Christian Academy after his sophomore year. Hendricks averaged 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game during his junior season while Calvary Christian won the Florida 3A state championship. As a senior, he was named the Broward County Player of the Year after averaging 15.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as Calvary Christian repeated as state champions. Hendricks was rated a four-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for UCF over offers from the likes of Florida, Florida State, Miami (Florida), LSU, Memphis, and Iowa State. His commitment made him the highest-ranked recruit in UCF history.

Hendricks entering his freshman season at UCF was not seen as an NBA prospect. He started as the Knights' starting power forward. On November 8, 2022, he opened the season with a 23-point, 2-steal and 3-block effort against UNC Asheville. He was named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Week for a conference record four consecutive weeks (November 21 through December 12). The only other player to win the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week award three weeks in a row was Austin Nichols.When Hendricks won his sixth American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week on January 16, 2023, he tied Jalen Duren, Precious Achiuwa and Dedric Lawson for the conference single-season record. On February 6, Jarace Walker won his sixth AAC Rookie of the Week award, tying the group. Hendricks won for a seventh (February 13), eighth (February 27), and ninth time (March 6) to move ahead of the pack and up his career-high to 25 points on February 26 against the Tulsa. Hendricks was named to the All-AAC 2nd team and the All-Freshman team. Following the end of the season he entered the 2023 NBA draft and signed with an agent, forgoing the remainder of his college eligibility.

Utah Jazz (2023–present)

The Utah Jazz selected Hendricks with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Hendricks became the highest NBA draft pick, the first lottery pick, and the first one-and-done player in UCF history. Taylor Hendricks scored a career high 12 points against the Sacramento Kings on Dec 16th, 2023.

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