Freshman guard plays despite sports phase out

by Cory Jaynes
Scroll Staff

Luke Hendrix discusses strategy with teammates during a timeout during the Viking's game against UVSC Saturday. Timothy Robison / Scroll

“I surprised myself that I was able to come up and play this year. I was hoping I could come and play, but I knew there were a lot of good players returning,” Hendrix said.

The freshman guard has played in every game this year. He has averaged four points, one rebound, one steal, one block and one assist per game, while shooting 52 percent from the field and 82 percent from the line. Not bad for a player not who isn’t even on scholarship.

But for Hendrix, it is a pure love of the game, not the money, that he is playing for.

“I grew up around sports my whole life. My family revolved around sports,” he said.

Hendrix’s father was a high school football player and encouraged his children to participate in sports. His mother has been an avid supporter, attending nearly all of his 100-200 basketball games each year.

“[My mother] loved it, and it wasn’t a hassle for her [to attend the games],” he said.

Hendrix, the youngest of three sons, was also influenced by his older brothers.

“I grew up playing soccer and basketball with my brothers,” Hendrix said. “We were best friends.”

They played Church basketball and on some recreation ball teams together.

Oddly enough, none of Hendrix’s brothers played varsity-level high school basketball because of their height.

“My family is really short. I am unusual and fortunate to be over six feet tall,” the blond-haired, 6-foot-2-inch Hendrix said.

As a youth, Hendrix played on a traveling team that won two national championships. Teammates included Garner Meads, a highly recruited standout at Brigham Young University, and Mark Jackson, who plays for the University of Utah.

Hendrix played as a starter for two years at Brighton High School in Sandy, Utah, helping his team get to the state championship game his senior year. Brighton lost in a hotly-contested, low-scoring game to Copper Hills of West Jordan, Utah.

“That was the hardest thing for me, losing in the state championship,” he said.

Hendrix decided to sign with Ricks College. The original plan was to redshirt his freshman year and leave on a mission so he could return to play two more years after his mission. Then, several weeks weeks after his team’s loss in the state championship another bombshell dropped. Ricks would become BYU-Idaho and the phase out of the sports program.

“I was pretty mad,” he said. “I couldn’t believe that would happen. I was still mad after the state championship, and [with the signing] I thought things were going to work out for me again. I couldn’t believe [another bad thing] could happen again. But it is cool. Things happen for a reason.”

That reason may be the opportunity he has had to play this year. After the announcement, Hendrix decided to come and play despite the fact that he wouldn’t receive a scholarship or any guarantee to play. But his play in practice impressed the coaches and, as Hendrix said, “everything worked out good.”

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