Calvary Christian’s Taylor and Tyler Hendricks will be playing collegiate ball together at the University of Central Florida, they announced Saturday.
A big get for coach Johnny Dawkins and the Knights, the brotherly duo provide some of that ‘it’ factor needed at the next level.
Taylor is a big-time forward in the 2022 class, known for his dominance inside the paint, along with a reliable mid-range and stroke from outside the arc. He finished his junior campaign averaging 14.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, providing his worth as the No. 136 prospect in 247Sports’ 2022 rankings. The 6-foot-10 forward ultimately chose UCF over offers from Miami, Florida State, Memphis, among others.
“[We] committed there because they have a great relationship with my family,” the four-star prospect told 305 Sports. “They have a very experienced and great coaching staff, they are great at developing players and they play high-level competition.”
For brother Tyler, he has emerged to be one of the better players in the South Florida area. The 6-foot-4 guard worked his way up to being a rotational starter for a very loaded Calvary Christian team. He can shoot at a high clip from deep and has the intelligence to make players open. making teams frustrated when having to lock in on the perimeter.
He’ll look to continue keeping that in his arsenal with the Knights.
“Playing college basketball together is something Taylor and I always wanted to do,” Tyler said. “It feels great that we got the opportunity to do that and commit to the same school.”
Playing under head coach Cilk McSweeney this past season, their roles were influential en route to the Eagles’ 4A state title run, the second in program history. The duo, alongside highly touted prospects like Greg Glenn, Marvel Allen and Carl Cherenfant, proved to be in their own category amongst teams in South Florida, even across the country.
With a year left to continue developing before arriving on campus, the brothers look to grow into whatever role will be needed from them when the time comes.
“My goals for college are to improve in all my areas of weakness and expand my game and become more versatile, as well as physical adjustments as well, and to also win tournaments,” Taylor said.
Taylor added that he sees himself “being a forward, maybe center to stretch the floor and play defense.” As for Tyler, he’ll be used to stretch the floor with his length at the one spot.
