On Friday morning, Utah Jazz Forward Taylor Hendricks arrived at the Carbon County Fairgrounds. After the morning festivities, he then traveled to the Spartan Center in Castle Dale. Hendricks was the ninth overall pick in the 2023 Draft, being Utah’s first overall pick. This put him in the same class as Victor Wenbanyama and fellow Jazz man, Keyonte George.
He had a great college career at the University of Central Florida (UCF), being the first player in UCF history to be taken in the first round. He finishing with 15.1 points, 7.0 rebound, 1.7 blocks and 0.9 steals, playing for the Knights as a Freshman. Hendricks led his team in minutes played, three-point percentage, rebounds and blocks. He would be named to the ACC All-Freshman team, along with the All-ACC Second Team. The 20-year-old just finished his first year in the National Basketball Association (NBA), averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds.
As the Jazz were figuring out the new direction of the team, behind fellow rookie Keyonte George, Hendricks’ minutes became greater by the end of the season.
As he spent the day in Carbon and Emery Counties, Hendricks and his team of coaches and media went through drills with the kids. They worked on coordination, consistency and teamwork.
The kids started off the camp getting to know about Henrdricks, as he told them about his one-year-old chihuahua, twin brother, shoe size and other questions they would be quizzed on towards the end of the camp. The ones that guessed correctly had the opportunity to play Taylor in a five versus one game. Hendricks showed off his talent of dunking and blocking, as the kids were filled with laughs and smiles. The day ended as Hendricks had a photo opportunity with the athletes, along with an autographed trading card.
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- Photos by Maxwell Misner
