2018 Badger commit Tyler Herro impresses at Nike Basketball Academy

Wisconsin Basketball recruit Tyler Herro performs well among the nation’s best

2018 Wisconsin Basketball commit Tyler Herro capped off a strong week of play at the Nike Basketball Academy showcase in Thousand Oaks, California.

On Saturday, Herro and Team Glover defeated Team Harp 93-86 in the championship game of a round-robin style tournament.

The Nike Basketball Academy is arguably the most prestigious national showcase for college basketball recruits.  Consequently, the Nike Academy is highly selective.  Therefore, only 29 invitations were extended and this year.

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The star-studded showcase features high-major college commits and plenty of future NBA draft picks. Most noteworthy, Herro’s play was universally praised by national recruiting analysts and even NBA scouts.

Scouting Report

Herro stands an impressive 6-foot-five-inches tall and looks visibly stronger on the court.  Furthermore, Herro dispelled any doubt of his ability to score against longer, more athletic defenders.  Also, his ball handling and shooting mechanics were exceptional on skill days.  Finally, during round-robin play, Herro looked poised and displayed impressive body control against elite athletes.

His passing ability and court vision flashed on multiple fast-break run-outs. Once labeled a shooting specialist, Herro now effectively scores at all three levels. Herro is most impressive as a mid-range scorer where his ability to utilize ball fakes and abruptly change direction allows him to easily create space from defenders. Herro has also improved at getting to the rim and scoring in traffic.

Tyler Herro has long dominated the high school ranks in Wisconsin, but his performance this off-season on Nike’s EYBL AAU Circuit and at the Nike Academy solidified his rank among the nation’s elite prospects in 2018.

Herro will be Wisconsin’s highest rated recruit since Sam Dekker in 2012 (#17 in ESPN100). In fact, he is currently ESPN’s 24th ranked prospect for the Class of 2018. With his recent performance, Herro should move into the top 15 of his class.

Good things to come in Madison

Wisconsin basketball fans are eagerly awaiting Herro in Madison in 2018. Tyler Herro looks every bit the program-changing recruit Sam Dekker was in 2012. Like Dekker, Tyler Herro has a polished offensive repertoire allowing him to create his own offense.

While Wisconsin basketball will continue to thrive with their systems-oriented approach, in order for the program to take that next step into “blue-blood” territory, they’ll need to continue recruiting better athletes. Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin teams of the past often struggled to create offense against elite defenses.

Under Greg Gard, recruiting is slowly evolving and we’ve seen more talented offensive players come to Wisconsin. Herro is the next major piece in this evolution and his advanced skill and isolation scoring ability will contribute immediately at Wisconsin.

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With the arrival of Herro in 2018 the Wisconsin backcourt could get crowded.  In addition, another year of experience for guards D’Mitrik Trice, Brevin Pritzl, Kobe King and Brad Davison, Wisconsin will give Wisconsin a supremely talented guard group.