Tyler Herro says it’s “scary” what next year’s Kentucky team can do

Former Kentucky Wildcat Tyler Herro went on the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast earlier this week, and he had a lot to say about his experience at Kentucky and what it has been like transitioning to the pros.

Herro came to Kentucky as a 4-star guard, ranking No. 37 in the 2018 recruiting class. It was clear early during his time at Kentucky that he was much better than many expected, as he was the only player that started all 37 games for the Wildcats last season. He was also second on the team in points (14 per game), second in assists (2.5 per game), second in steals (1.1 per game), and fourth in rebounds (4.5 per game).

In talking with Torres about his Kentucky experience, one of the most notable topics was next year’s Kentucky roster. While the guys coming in are definitely ready to leave their mark on the program, Herro is most excited to see what the returners can do with a year of experience under their belts.

“Ashton, I’m hoping he’s going to be one of the best, if not the best point guard in the country next year,” Herro told Torres. “He’s putting in a lot of work right now.”

But Hagans is not the other returning player with a point to prove.

“The rest of the guys, EJ (Montgomery), Nick (Richards), Immanuel (Quickley), it’s scary what they can do for how many guys they’ve got returning and as talented as they were last year to see them coming back.”

If Montgomery, Richards, and Quickley all take big steps forward, this is a very scary team. It would seem that all of those guys should be playing with chips on their shoulders, playing to show everyone, especially NBA scouts, that they were recruited to Kentucky for a reason.

Everyone knows that Herro famously spurned his home state by decommitting from Wisconsin before announcing that he would be playing for Kentucky. As he told Torres, that was an easy choice compared to the decision to leave Kentucky.

“It was probably one of the hardest decisions (I’ve ever made). It was definitely harder than decommitting from Wisconsin.”

I am sure that quote was like twisting the knife in all Wisconsinites (that’s really what they are called), but I think it says a lot about the current culture of the Kentucky program.