While some may call her a late bloomer, Westbury Huskies senior guard Rhylei Hendrick is a fast learner. Having only played basketball for five years, Hendrick is quickly making an impact at Westbury High School and hoping to change the culture when it comes to girls’ sports.
“To go far, we have to bond together and work as a team,” said Hendrick.
The Huskies play in a difficult division which includes Westside, Bellaire, and Heights, all of whom usually finish towards the top of their division. But the Huskies hope to rewrite history.
“I played soccer when I was younger. That was my first love and then I started running,” said Hendrick.
It was the sight of Hendrick burning up the track that caught the attention of a PE coach at Pershing Middle School, who felt that running could help the basketball team.
“In the seventh grade at Pershing Middle School, they used to make us run laps around the school and the boys would hurry and race to the gym, beating all the girls so they could get a basketball first. But I was faster than them, so I always got a ball. Coach Ray saw me and asked, ‘Hey, you hoop?’ And I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Well, you do today.’ So that’s where it started,” said Hendrick.
Rhylei Hendrick
Senior Point Guard
IG: @D1.rhy
Twitter: @RhyleiHendrick
Height & weight: 5-feet-7, 118 pounds
Players she studies: Rori Harmon (University of Texas), Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks)
Status: Uncommitted
Favorite artist: Chris Brown
Favorite subject: History
Shout-outs: Mom and siblings
Learning the game
Coach Ray signed her up for the basketball team, but it was another coach, Coach Chelsey Rosier, who took it further and explained what basketball could do for Hendrick.
“I wasn’t a hooper. I had never played before, but she saw I was a fast learner. She would work with me one-on-one. And one day she sat me down and told me basketball could get me into college for free. That’s when I knew I wanted to get serious about this game,” said Hendrick.
Hendrick continued to work on her skills, and by the summer of her 8th grade year, she visited her friend Reagan Johnson who was a member of a local AAU program.
“I would always see her going to the gym and getting better while I’m at home. So, I asked her if I could come and she invited me to play with her AAU team, Texas Southern Flames (TSF). She brought me one time, and I never left,” said Hendrick.
Hendrick only stands 5-foot-7, so she is considered a small guard, but she studies Rori Harmon another small guard who she used to play against competitively.
“I study Rori because she’s a small guard who has elite speed and change of direction. No one can do it like her. She’s a whole package,” said Hendrick.
Hendrick takes pieces from other players’ games and adds them to her game, but realizes she too must improve finishing with her left in contact.
“Because I’m small, if I get to the rim, I need to be able to finish.”
More than a game
To some, basketball is just a game, but to Hendrick, it’s more.
“Basketball is my sanity. When I’m stressed out, or things are not going right for me, I go to the court and play. It’s therapeutic for me. I eat, sleep, and breathe basketball,” said Hendrick.
Hendrick is receiving looks from a few programs, but she is still uncommitted. She hopes to find a place that has a bond as strong as her AAU program while also offering a high-level business management degree.
“I want to own my own barbershop and be somebody that the kids can look up to,” said Hendrick.
As Hendrick looks back, she offers advice to upcoming athletes.
“If you think you can’t do it, just tell yourself you can because it’s all a mental thing. Sometimes you get intimidated when the opponent is bigger. That’s when you have to use your speed. Never tell yourself, I can’t do this or that. It’s all going to work out in the end, for sure.”
