<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Richard Hendrix says it's his dream to play in the NBA. That's no surprise to anyone. But the Alabama signee also gives the impression that he doesn't want to wait, that he doesn't want to spend a year or two in Tuscaloosa first, that he wants to play in the NBA next season. After his Athens High School team lost in the state semifinals Friday at the BJCC, Hendrix sounded very much like a young man on the verge of making a career decision to start his professional career. "If I have the opportunity where it comes sooner rather than later," he said, "I'm going to jump at that." Never mind that it's impossible to find an NBA mock draft that includes his name as a first-round selection. Or that Hendrix is also a good student from a good family that values education. Or that, hurt by quick whistles and foul trouble, a teenager who wants to compete with men like Ben Wallace failed to dominate the teenagers from Shaw High School. Hendrix said he plans to do everything possible in the next two months to take away any guesswork about his draft status and prove himself a top-20 pick. That's his line in the sand for turning pro. He has to decide by May 14, the NBA's deadline for early entrants. "I'm going to get in the gym," he said. "I'm going to work. I'm going to improve my game." And he's going to play in three high-profile national all-star games, the maximum allowed for a player to stay eligible for college. When he does, he said, "I'm going to bring my `A' game." </div> Source
