According to my humble Warriors Big Board rankings, Richard Hendrix was the biggest steal of the draft going 23 spots lower than projected. I hope I'm right with this guy. Here's a video that was posted on YouTube yesterday, along an interview with the Pacers and an indepth scouting report from RealGM.
Richard Hendrix Highlights
from: DejanBodyroga
Richard Hendrix Interview
From: pacersvideo
Draft Report: Richard Hendrix Of Alabama
Authored by Christopher Reina - 20th June, 2008 - 10:33 am
Richard Hendrix has finely tuned NBA-ready skills at the power forward position.
With Jermareo Davidson no longer in Tuscaloosa, Hendrix was even more confident as a junior and improved in nearly every statistical category from his sophomore season with the notable exception of his free throw shooting. He shot just 53.7% from the line, likely due to an unforgivable hitch in his technique.
Hendrix’s greatest asset is how well he uses his wide frame on the offensive end of floor and his overall footwork. He uses his body to get wide and seal defenders in the post and has extremely soft hands on the catch, one of the best set of hands in the draft.
Like Brook Lopez of Stanford and Kevin Love of UCLA, Hendrix does much of his work to score in the post before he even receives the ball.
Sometimes, though, when he seals his defender ahead of catching the ball, he doesn’t hold it quite long enough.
He has great awareness of where he is on the floor and can score in multiple ways, whether with a nice touch off the glass with either hand or a power dunk. He brings the ball down to his gut excessively and can’t really dunk without a clear path to the bucket.
Hendrix also will attempt acrobatic shots when he gets fouled instead of using his big body and strength to out-muscle his way to the bucket.
Hendrix flashes well to the ball and is able to get himself open despite the constant attention he received at Alabama.
He must become a better jump shooter, which will make him a more useful player on the mid-post and on the pick and pop.
As you’d expect from a player with his skill-set, Hendrix is an effective passer with great vision and anticipation of everything that transpires on the floor. He gets flustered when doubled in the mid-post, rushing his decisions, but it is unlikely he ever sees a double team in the NBA.
He has a good motor and nice reach on the offensive glass. He gets his hands on a lot of balls and uses his soft touch on put-back finger rolls and tips.
Defensively, he will get an occasional on-ball block, but his game is clearly strength and positioning. He must work hard on every possession, and defending the quick perimeter oriented power forwards will prove difficult.
But Hendrix is a hard-working, mentally sound player who was coached in high school and is a good player to round out a roster even though he lacks some of the athleticism and quickness needed for a player of his height to truly excel on the NBA level at the power forward position.
He graduated from Alabama in three years and will bring that same business-like attitude, intelligence, and desire to overachieve to whichever team selects him.
A success story like Carl Landry in Houston definitely does help his case although Hendrix isn’t nearly as athletic.
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