Tyler Herro: The (real) White Mamba

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From a skinny white kid in Greenfield, Wisconsin to know, a rising star in the NBA. Tyler Herro has been turning scouts' heads since he’s stepped on the court, and for basketball fans, it could be the best rookie campaign since Allen Iverson (Statistically), when he averaged 23.5 PPG (points/game) and 7.5 APG (assist/game).

In High School, Herro played for the Whitnall Falcons where he played all four years of varsity hoops.

His freshman year went as you’d expect, Herro was efficient but wasn’t the high-volume shooter his first year. He averaged just 15.8 PPG on .523% shooting, taking just around seven shots a game. Herros’ sophomore year was no slump; he was the Falcons offense. He put up 24 PPG, on .499% efficiency with about 14 shots a game. This was also the beginning of the recruitment process for Herro. Scholarships flooded in.

He got offered by Florida, Indiana, Oregon, Arizona, just to name a few but, the offer that Herro would accept was from his home state. On September 12th, 2016, Herro committed to play for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Unfortunately, for the Badgers, this would only last a year.

Herro started the 2016-2017 season so strong that the Kentucky Wildcats began talks with the guard, who at the time was shooting .545% from the field averaging just over 23.2 PPG in his Junior season. On October 17th, 2017 he un-committed from Wisconsin, and about a week later was offered by the Wildcats.

Within two weeks of the offer, Herro sent his letter of intent and committed to the ruling Kentucky Wildcats. Despite an injury, Kentucky still stayed firm with their offer, which one of the better 'moments' I’ve seen these colleges make in a while.

In his senior year, Herro unquestionably destroyed his opponents, averaging 32.9 PPG on .496% shooting, making it a memorable goodbye to high school setting career highs in many categories.

The Question I'd raise would be, was it a good move to go to Kentucky? Maybe. Just knowing to know that he wasn’t going to be as high usage of a player as in high school, it’s debatable that he should’ve gone to another college. If he wanted more looks from NBA scouts, then one could argue that it was a clever move.

When Herro got to Kentucky, he was primarily used as a spot-up shooter, which was underutilizing his shot-creating abilities and playmaking potential that we’ve seen. Averaging 14 PPG, 2.5 APG was good enough to earn him SEC Newcomer of the Year and was named in the Second Team All-SEC team. He also won freshman three times. You could still argue that if he attended another smaller school, he could’ve showcased all his strengths. Regardless of what I say the story is told, Herro was selected 13th overall in the 2019, NBA draft.

Now he is lighting up the league with his ability to score effortlessly. Herro is a bucket, he can score from anywhere on the floor showing no real weaknesses. The only problem with his game is defense, which will likely improve since he plays the game with a swagger and a chip on his shoulder.

A little shuffle with Michael Carter-Williams gives me optimism about his defense and just the way he plays the game in general. Attitude goes a long way in basketball, that’s how the great Michael Jordan made is money. If you get into an opponent's head, they’ll lose their cool and that’s what Herro has done the whole preseason.

Now, Herro seamlessly building up his case for Rookie of the Year each game and is my personal favorite to win in. I predict averages around 22 PPG, 5 APG, and 5 RPG (rebounds/game). Herro WILL shock the NBA this season.

- Alex Fortuna