You haven’t seen the Utah Jazz’s youth on the court recently. But you may have seen them on social media.
In his latest TikTok post online, Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks is seen dancing with his fellow rookies and sophomores Keyonte George, Cody Williams, Kyle Filipowski, and Brice Sensabaugh.
While it’s clear they’re making time for fun, the video shows the players back in Utah, in the Zions Bank Basketball Center, which means they’re working on their games with Jazz coaches.
It’s a good thing, too — they probably need that work.
As the Jazz sought to lose games last season, they had one major strategy: Whenever possible, play the youth. In a game against a fellow bottom-dweller, play them more. That strategy was so successful — the Jazz finished with the worst record in the league, thanks to a 6-19 record against bottom-10 teams. This indicates that the team’s youth isn’t ready for primetime, not yet.
So what do they need to do in order to help push the Jazz towards wins, not losses, one day? Jazz general manager Justin Zanik and head coach Will Hardy will decide.
Here’s what both Jazz figureheads said about each young player as the season neared its conclusion, as they begin work in what Zanik called “probably the most important summer of their young careers.”
Taylor Hendricks
Hendricks, you’ll remember, broke his leg in the season’s third game. So, for Hardy, getting Hendricks healthy is “the only focus.”
Zanik sees the opportunity in the recovery process to work on Hendricks’ body, developing a stronger lower body, as well as his mind.
“His coach made him basically an assistant coach when he started to travel with the team. You could see his personality start coming out,” the GM said.
Even though Hendricks is getting more on-court time, Zanik said he wouldn’t play in summer league.
“We want to be pretty conservative with that type of injury,” he said.
Keyonte George
Hardy was clear about his priorities with the sophomore George: defense and shooting discipline.
“Keyonte has got to improve his defense. His defense can be improved in a variety of ways,” the coach said. “Some of it is the mental aspect, but there also is an element of his conditioning and his physical strength” that can be improved as well.
The shot selection is a key part of shooting discipline, Hardy said, but not the full story. “I think just the technical discipline when he does shoot, not falling out of his shot, some of those things can be worked on.”
Zanik defended George’s efficiency, however.
“He’s always been a player that has given us some very, very good moments over the last two years,” the GM said. “I know that there’s been criticism sometimes of his efficiency, but I think a lot of that also is the role that we’ve asked him to take with a very young team.
“Being able to come off the bench and have a backcourt partner with Isaiah allowed him to be a little bit more efficient. This summer will continue to be huge for him in terms of the feedback that he’s gotten, in terms of the shots that he takes.”
Brice Sensabaugh
Both Zanik and Hardy were proud of Sensabaugh showing off an NBA-level skill over the course of his second season: his shooting.
“He was largely able to establish himself as a very good shooter in this league. And while he has other things that he’s developed to become a more complete player ... he’s got some tangible things that can apply to an NBA game and apply to an eventually championship competitive team.”
What’s next for Sensabaugh, then?
“When he shoots it goes in, but his body is going to help him navigate all the other areas,” Hardy said. “Everything from changing ends of the floor to becoming more solid defensively. If he can do those things, it allows his skill to really shine.”
Cody Williams
Williams really struggled in his rookie season, performing as one of the worst players in the league despite being drafted No. 10 overall. Zanik defended the decision:
“He’s got a very good brain, he’s in the right places most of the time, and kind of understands what’s going on in the game,” he said. “We knew that physically that he was going to take a lot more time than some of the other guys that were more physically ready.”
“While he struggled with certain aspects. I think they were good reinforcement lessons of what he needs to do this summer — from a strength standpoint, (and) understanding the speed of the game," the GM added. “I know with this experience, he wants to attack it this summer.
As a result, Hardy says for Williams, he wants to see improved physical strength, and said the team had to “do some things to refine his shooting.”
It appears that process is underway.
Isaiah Collier
Zanik credited Collier’s pace, strength, and court awareness at the point guard position as a rookie.
“I think the point guard position is really, really hard to play, especially as a 20-year-old. But he demonstrated early that he knows what’s going on in the game: Time and score, who’s played well, who needs the ball?”
So what’s next? Hardy wants to turn Collier’s speed into a full-time “superpower,” where he’s able to run on both ends of the floor throughout the full 82-game schedule. And, of course, if you took a look at Collier’s 24.9% 3-point percentage, you could likely guess the other improvement point: shooting.
“Especially the kind of sit-behind three, off the bounce, when people try to go way under in pick and roll,” Hardy said.
Kyle Filipowski
Where Filipowski had a strong offensive season as a second-round rookie, his defense left something to be desired.
“Flip has got to become more solid on the defensive end. He has to be earlier on the defensive end,” Hardy said. “I think that Flip is used to making plays over the top over the course of his life, and I think at this level, we just need him to be a little bit earlier defensively.”
Zanik also said he had to work to learn “lessons every game about the physicality of the game.”
While Filipowski’s 3-point shooting was much more successful (35%) than Collier’s, it also remains a focus for Hardy. That’s because the Duke big man re-tooled his shot during the middle of the 2024-25 season.
“As expected, there was some success. Then some of the things started to drift a little bit, which with any new skill, is not a shock to me. There was no alarm bell that went off. But now, with the offseason, he can really try to make those things a habit,” Hardy said of Filipowski’s shooting form.
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