The Waiting Game Hendrickson Preparing For The Nba Draft, Not Counting On Projections

Mark Hendrickson says he doesn’t worry about when, or even if, he’ll be selected in next month’s National Basketball Association draft.

With good reason.

“Even the teams don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Hendrickson, Washington State’s 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior forward. “For the players, you maybe know who’s going top five, but that’s about it. Everything else can vary.”

Just ask former WSU and NBA forward Brian Quinnett, who has helped Hendrickson sharpen his skills in recent weeks.

“I had teams specifically - like Orlando - tell me, ‘We have the (37th) pick, and if you’re available, there’s no question we’re going to draft you,” recalled Quinnett.

The Magic were so high on Quinnett, they invested that coveted 37th pick in Alabama’s Michael Ansley.

“I’m sitting here thinking, ‘What the hell is going on? This is like a nightmare,”’ Quinnett said. “And then they got clear down to the 50th pick and finally, they went up there from the New York Knicks. And I knew (Knicks coach) Stu Jackson, and he had said we don’t need a player like you, and plus, you won’t be around when our pick comes, anyway. And they picked me.”

The lesson? Don’t believe the hype, as Hendrickson attests.

“For me, I just take everything anybody says and I’m kind and generous and let them say their piece, but then when I walk away, it’s like, I pretend that I didn’t hear it,” he explained. “Regardless of whether it’s good or if it’s bad, because you have to keep kind of level-headed on everything and don’t let it be a roller-coaster ride.”

As the two-round June 26 draft approaches, Hendrickson is concentrating on finishing school and adjusting his game to best suit the NBA. Quinnett has helped with the latter, running Hendrickson through drills the agile left-hander will confront during individual workouts with potential employers.

“Like shooting, perimeter footwork with the ball,” Quinnett said. “In the NBA, he’s going to be playing on the perimeter a lot more and they’re going to want to see if he can do it - which he can, but he just needs to get more fluid at it and more comfortable with it.”

In addition, Hendrickson attended a camp for prospective draft picks last month in Phoenix. With former NBA coaches Chris Ford and K.C. Jones supervising, Hendrickson quickly earned the respect of Othella Harrington, burning the 7-foot Georgetown center for a pair of dunks.

“I don’t look at it as something that made my week,” Hendrickson said. “It was something that maybe happened early in the week, which I think showed some people some athleticism.”

Hendrickson averaged better than 16 points and nine rebounds per game last season. And while those numbers were probably most influential in drawing all-Pacific-10 Conference honors, Hendrickson also showed excellent passing skills and foot speed.

“One thing I took out of Phoenix that - I mean, it’s important, but it’s not as focused on - is probably my foot speed compared to the other big guys down there,” Hendrickson said. “I felt that I was the best big man out there as far as transition, running the court and lateral quickness.”

A hand injury kept Hendrickson out of six games last season and may have put additional importance on his performance in predraft camps - the biggest of which takes place June 4-7 in Chicago.

Another factor sure to influence Hendrickson’s draft position is the proliferation of talented underclassmen to declare for early entry. Every time an Allen Iverson or Marcus Camby comes out, it hurts guys like Hendrickson.

Still, Quinnett suspects Hendrickson might be a first-round pick.

“I don’t want to be one of these guys that’s going to pop off and say he’s going to go here,” Quinnett hedged, “but I went and saw (David) Checketts, who is the president of the Knicks, when I was back in New York for the Final Four. And I sat in his office, and that morning, him and four other teams went through a mock draft.

“And they had one draft without any of the underclassmen and one draft with, and Mark was in the first round on both of them.”

If not, there’s always Orlando.

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