Hendricks didn’t expect to be one-and-done, but Calvary grad is about to be lottery pick

Taylor Hendricks was still about two months from making his official debut for the UCF Knights and, at least in some circles of the NBA world, the secret was already out.

The post player was just a few weeks into his freshman year in Orlando at the time when Cilk McSweeney’s phone buzzed with a text message no one was expecting.

“Hey, this is Sean Stout from the Spurs,” the message said, an out-of-nowhere inquiry from an NBA scout. “I wanted to see if you have time to connect about Taylor Hendricks.”

The Calvary Christian Academy coach in Fort Lauderdale immediately sent the message along to Hendricks and his mother.

Hendricks’ unlikely one-and-done campaign was officially underway and will conclude Thursday when the 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward gets picked, likely in the lottery, in the 2023 NBA Draft.

“They were so happy,” McSweeney said. “He surprised himself. ... He surprised a lot of us.”

This NBA Draft, which begins at 8 p.m., is poised to be historic for South Florida. Guards Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, who led Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest to the Class 3A championship in 2021 before skipping their senior years of high school to go play in Overtime Elite, are both potential top-10 picks. Shooting guard Jett Howard, who won a 3A title at NSU University School in Davie before transferring to Bradenton IMG Academy and then starring at Michigan, will probably be a first-round pick, too.

In all, four South Floridians could go in Round 1 and certainly four will get picked at some point in the two-round draft — the most ever in a single year for this region.

It’s not surprising, though, to see the Thompsons and Howard on this trajectory. Those three were all top-50 prospects in the Class of 2022 by the time they went to the next level, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and identified early on as elite talents with skill sets perfectly suited for the modern NBA.

Hendricks, even though he won a pair of Class 4A championships and was the Miami Herald’s Broward County Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for Classes 4A-2A just last year, wasn’t quite on the same level as those three guards, at least in terms of recruiting. He was the No. 67 player in the 2022 recruiting class and wound up playing at UCF rather in one of the Power 5 conferences, and even he figured it would take some time to refine his tweener-ish skill set to the point where he would captivate NBA scouts.

Instead, he led the Knights with 15.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in his lone season; shot 39.4 percent from three-point range and 47.8 percent from the field; and proved himself to be a more-than-capable defensive force in a switch-heavy modern system.

At UCF, he was empowered in a way he never was at Calvary Christian or on the AAU circuit with Each 1 Teach 1, where he was playing with several other future college players and often operated away from the ball because of it.

“He never worried about stuff he couldn’t control,” McSweeney said. “He never worried about anybody’s shots, never worried about him not getting enough shots and him not scoring enough points, and all that and with that type of attitude, you’re going to keep growing as a player.”

It positions him nicely to play whatever role NBA teams ask of him.

If he does go in the top 10 to a rebuilding team looking for a future star, Hendricks could turn into a foundational offensive piece with his pick-and-pop ability and his athleticism in transition. If he winds up going to a team ready to contend, Hendricks could be an ideal role player with his three-point shooting ability and defense letting him fit in virtually any situation.

“A lot of people and scouts,” McSweeney said, “didn’t see his value and how efficient he was. He was just overlooked, man.”

Thompson twins take unique path

The Thompson twins, who are originally from California, are both potential top-five picks in the upcoming draft.

After they were stars in Fort Lauderdale and led the Panthers to a state championship as juniors, they joined several other high-profile prospects in skipping their senior years to go to Atlanta and play in Overtime Elite, an upstart professional league for players between the ages of 16-20.

Players in Overtime Elite (OTE) earn a minimum salary of $100,000. The Thompsons continued to take classes and graduated from OTE Academy last year.

“[They] are probably the best combination of athletic ability and basketball instinct I’ve ever seen,” Pine Crest coach Barry Connors said. “They do things on the floor that people can’t do, including NBA people.”

Howard follows in father’s footsteps

Howard is poised to become the second member of his family to be picked in the first round.

Juwan Howard, the guard’s father, was the No. 5 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft. Howard projects as a late first-round pick this week.

Howard also played for his father in college after winning a state title in Davie and finishing high school at IMG Academy.

Whenever Howard gets picked, his selection will round out one of the all-time great drafts for the area.

“That’s such a blessing for kids to see that down here and the nation, too,” McSweeney said. “We’re putting South Florida on the map and we have, in the last few years, really showed people we are more than just a football state.”

Sportswriter Meadow Barrow contributed rto this report.