UK's HERRO: Shooting guard picks the Cats
Four-star shooting guard Tyler Herro picked Kentucky over Oregon, Villanova and Wisconsin on Tuesday afternoon. The 6-foot-4, 170-pound Greenfield, Wisc., native becomes the third commitment for UK in the class of 2018.
Originally committed to the Badgers, Herro backed off his pledge on Oct. 19th and things moved quickly for the shooting specialist. He received an offer from the Cats on Nov. 1st and officially visited UK over the weekend.
Kentucky was perceived to be the heavy favorite once John Calipari offered and Herro didn't take any other official visits. His commitment to UK may have not come as a surprise but that doesn't mean it's not significant.
Herro's commitment is huge for Calipari because he's likely a multiyear player that will be able to make an impact in year one. Far too often when UK fans discuss multiyear players the assumption is made there won't be contributions in the player's freshman season, but that won't be the case for Herro.
He will instantly give UK and outside scoring threat, but he's not just a shooter. Herro can play point guard in a pinch and put the ball on the floor and get inside the lane.
Herro averaged 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in the Nike EYBL. He shot 35.7 percent from deep, making 36 threes in 16 games. Kentucky was impressed with Herro's shooting ability but the Cats aren't just getting a one dimensional player.
But fans will most likely focus on his shooting and when he's on he's one of the better scorers in the class. In one Nike EYBL game Herro went for 27 points and hit four threes. In eight of his 16 games he hit three or more threes.
Kentucky hasn't had much recruiting success in Wisconsin and Herro becomes just the second Wisconsin native to play for Kentucky. Read Morgan played at UK from 1949 to 1951 and scored 57 points in his UK career. Morgan would better be known for his acting career after basketball.
Herro joins Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson in UK's 2018 class, and the Cats may just add one or two more. UK's future backcourt will likely have to gel with returning players, possibly Quade Green, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jemarl Baker, but the great thing about Herro is that he is a different player than everyone listed, but most similar to Baker.
But Baker isn't as efficient at getting into the paint and facilitating, so mix in Herro's shooting there will likely be plenty of opportunities for the freshman.
Kentucky fans have often complained about the lack of multiyear players, so Herro should be exactly what UK fans are looking for the next few seasons.
Herro is ranked No. 38 in the class of 2018.