An under the radar consensus top 50 recruit in 2022, Taylor Hendricks was UCF’s highest ranked recruit in school history. A Freshman of the Year contender and an All-AAC member, Taylor Hendricks had a great freshman season. On the year he averaged 15 PPG, 7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1 SPG, 1.7 BPG, and 1.4 TOPG on splits of 48/39/78. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Taylor Hendricks
Height/Weight: 6’9/214
Wingspan/ standing reach: 7’0.5/8’11
Hand size: 10.25
Position: Forward
Pre-Draft team: UCF
Tools: Shooting, defense, feel for the game
Pros:
- Good rebounder
- Outstanding shooter
- Versatile shooter with both standstill and movement shooting ability
- Great size for an off-ball player; NBA ready body
- Versatile defensively; has good rim protection instincts and can defend the perimeter
- Good athlete
- Times shot contests well
- Good vision
- Outstanding feel for the game and overall instincts
- Good finisher at the rim off cuts; can finish through contact
- Can hold his own in the post defensively
Cons:
- Needs to improve pull-up jumper; mechanics don’t always look the same
- Needs to improve ball-handling; has a simple handle currently
- Needs to get better at driving and finishing with momentum
Summary:
Taylor Hendricks is an ideal forward for the modern NBA.
Hendricks fits the bill of what NBA teams want from a 3&D player. While this term has become slowly outdated, given how many players have ball-skills and are able to do simply more than the simple set of shoot the three ball and defend, the label still paints a good picture of what Hendricks’ floor is. He will be able to defend multiple positions, being able to defend some post-ups, while being able to hold his own in isolation against guards. The versatility on defense is incredibly appealing, and on offense he adds versatility to his offense by creating for others with quick recognition passing, no matter how advanced or simple the read.
As a passer, Hendricks offers everything teams want in a non-primary scorer or ball-handler: quick recognition & processing ability, vision off of offensive rebounds & at the rim, and an excellent ability to quickly recognize the triple threat options in finding a cutter/shooter, driving, or simply shooting. This high-feel passing profile is something that should stand out in film rewatches for teams, as well in draft workouts and potentially an NBA Combine scrimmage, should he participate. The last major element of Hendricks’ passing that stands out is his lack of passing turnovers. A good portion of his turnovers came from simple miscommunication or one-off errors, instead of bad reads or bad passing accuracy.
The other element of Taylor Hendricks that stands out is his shooting ability, especially his standstill shooting. While he needs to improve his ball-handling and off the dribble shooting smoothness, Hendricks is a smooth spot-up shooter as an off-ball player. He is able to hit moving shots enough right now to give teams hope that he will be able to become a shooter off of hand-offs at 6’9, which makes him a lethal off-ball assignment every night.
With his combination of 3 level off-ball scoring (spot-up shooting, mid-range shooting, especially off of flashes, and finishing off of cuts) as well as versatile defense, Taylor Hendricks has an excellent upside of being a great ceiling-rasier for an ascending team.
Similar to: Jabari Smith Jr, Robert Covington if you put his senior year self at 19 in a near high major
Projected draft range: 6-12
Expected role: Two-way forward with versatility on each end, being able to pass some offensively, and being able to defend both on the perimeter and at the rim.
Unplayable if: Almost impossible to become unplayable, so a worst case lies in his shot not being more than average in terms of percentages.
Exceeds expectations if: Passing pops enough to be a multiple assists per game guy, and his ability to defend guards & big men translates easily. If he can become a better slasher, his entire offense will boom.
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