UH Tennis

Player Profile

By Keenan Singleton
Daily Cougar Staff

In basketball, the "sixth man" is looked upon to add a needed scoring punch from the bench at any time, along with a deft long-range shooting touch or lightning-quick slashing ability.

Some of the greatest sixth-men of the NBA's past and present include retired Detroit Piston guard Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson, ex-Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry and current Chicago Bull Toni Kukoc.

Chad Hendrick

UH swingman Chad Hendrick has all the components to add his name to the list. 

This season, Hendrick has maintained his new overall scoring average with 9.2 points-per-game, while helping out on the boards with 2.9 per contest and dishing out 1.7 assists in 22 games.

"I'm an athletic slasher who can shoot the open jumper," Hendrick said.

"Since I'm a left-handed guard, that gives me a bit of an advantage. Defensively, my long arms enable me to cover the floor easily."

The 6-5 Houston-area player is closing out his third season as the Cougars' resident "starter-off-the-bench."

"I've gotten used to coming off the bench." Hendrick said. "I look at myself as a player at this point. It doesn't matter if I start or come off the bench. I'm going to give you 150 percent whenever I ever take the floor."

Becoming more and more of a big-time player, Hendrick's best performances include a 17-point, three-rebound, two-assist performance against Texas in last season's opener. In another game against the Longhorns on Dec. 27, 1997, he snagged down a career-high 12 rebounds and established an antiquated career-high in assists with four.

"Texas and UH have been rivals for years." he said. "Whenever you get to play your rival school, you bring your A-game. The games are usually sold out and there is so much hype around them. It just makes me perform to the best of my ability."

Most basketball players want to be the next Michael Jordan and play in the NBA. Hendrick is no different.

"My dream is to play in the NBA for a couple of years." Hendrick said.

"I have a lot of respect for (ex-UH standout guard) Damon Jones. He made it to the NBA with a lot of hustle."

Many critics dubbed Hendrick's sophomore season as sub-par due to his dropoff in points (8.1-6.2), rebounds (4.7-2.8) and assists (62-22).

To help prove that last season was a fluke, Hendrick spent extra time during the summer fine-tuning his game.

"I played a lot of summer ball with some pros in different places in the city. I stayed in the gym as much as possible."

After demonstrating the versatile style that made him a star at Madison High School, Hendrick debuted at UH against Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the tune of 13 points and two rebounds in 27 minutes of play.

Chad Drexler

Next year will be head coach Clyde Drexler's third season and what many consider his first "true" recruiting class. For this reason, many are saying that next year's squad will be Drexler's first season with top-notch talent as a coach.

"Hopefully, I can be a more consistent player on the floor," Hendrick added. "(Drexler) will have a lot of his own players that he's recruited into the team next year. Hopefully I can be a catalyst and be an important part of the team. I'm really anxious to find out. I'm looking forward to it actually."

Speaking of Drexler, that's whose game Hendrick believes his own is best compared to -- Houston's prodigal son, "The Glide."

"He's (Drexler) led me to believe that our two styles of play are similar. He expects a lot from me on the floor."

Drexler's view on Hendrick's game has been purely complementary.

"Chad has been a super-sub for us this year," he said.

"When he starts, he does well also. I like his effort. He has made tremendous strides during his last two years in his over-all game."