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He may just be the Herro UK needs, whether they deserve it or not

Tyler Herro was impressive in his debut as a Wildcat, but he showed things much deeper than just “better than we thought.”

Jason Marcum - Sea of Blue

Look, I am not an “overreaction” guy or even a “small sample” guy.

I like to look at performance over the course of time and make assessments based on a body of work. But there are things you see sometimes that can of shift the way you need to assess a player.

Last night’s performance was just that for Tyler Herro.

Herro finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist in just 22 minutes. Stretching that out to 40 minutes, that would be 29 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 steals. That’s quite a stat line from “the other guy” in the recruiting class.

I get it. The Bahamas National Team was not impressive and this was a blowout win. But the eye test was much more impressive than his numbers. Herro looked like an experienced collegiate basketball player.

He made smart passes. He created his own open shots. He never looked panicked. And probably most impressively, he sought out and sank mid-range jumpers.

His athleticism was almost as impressive. He was quick with and without the ball. He ran the floor. And while I don’t really care about his dunking ability as much, he certainly showed speed and jumping ability that I had not seen before.

Just think what might have happened if this ball bounces off the back side of the rim.

Yes, this was an sub-par team from the Bahamas and this was just an exhibition game. But the intangible skills that Herro showed on Wednesday make it very difficult to ignore his impressive numbers.

What was his most impressive stat of the game?

Along with being 2nd on the team in points, Herro was one of only two players (the other was Immanuel Quickley) to play more than 20 minutes without a single turnover.

With Herro being so efficient and dangerous with the ball in his hands, it will certainly be difficult to keep him off of the court.

“Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight.” -Commissioner Gordon.

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