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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz selected Central Florida small forward Taylor Hendricks with the No. 9 pick of the NBA draft Thursday.
The 2023 NBA draft has been hyped for years due to some of the prospects at the top. But while some of the other lottery-bound players have been in the limelight for years, Hendricks emerged on the scene during his freshman season at UCF.
He might not be as well known as Jarace Walker, Cam Whitmore or Anthony Black, but there's a lot of reason for fans to be excited about this pick.
What are the Jazz getting in Hendricks?
Hendricks is 6-foot-8 without shoes and has a 7-foot-1 wingspan, and shot nearly 40% from the 3-point line his freshman year.
His floor appears to be a prototypical 3-and-D small forward. He should be able to space the floor from Day 1. He doesn't have the shot creation ability, but if that can develop, he could very well be an All-Star in the future, especially if his defensive production translates to the NBA.
Hendricks' on-ball defense was special, and he was asked to switch one through five in college to great results. Oh, and he led his conference in blocks as a wing, using some fantastic weakside instincts.
He's got a lot of the tools needed to develop into a starting wing (or more) in the NBA.
