Adjusting to playing at Kentucky is not easy for new players and often coach John Calipari talks about players getting “punched in the mouth” by opponents who always seem to play their best against the Cats.
However, that “punch” can also come from the UK coach.
“One thing about – again – about this program is if the game doesn’t punch you in the mouth, coach Cal will punch you in the mouth, so you’re not going through this program just going through the motions. You’re going to have adversity,” Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne said Monday.
Wherever the punch came from, it seems to have worked with freshman Tyler Herro.
He averaged 10 points per game and shot 39 percent overall and 29 percent from 3-point range in UK’s first six game.
Over his first six games, Herro averaged a respectable 10.0 points per game. He was shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from 3-point range. Over the last 13 games, he’s scoring 14.8 points per game and has been in double figures 11 times. He’s made 46 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3 — and had two or more 3’s in nine of the 13 games.
He’s also earning praise for his defensive play going into Tuesday night’s game at Vanderbilt. He made just three shots against Kansas but earned praise from Kansas coach Bill Self for his lockdown defense.
“At the beginning of the season, I don’t think I could have made the impact I did on that game. Just because I feel like I’m not the same player as I was. Credit to the coaches making me a better player. I feel like obviously I wanted to make shots, but it was good to be able to impact the game in a different way playing defense,” Herro said. “Ever since the first game, we’ve been working on defense. I’m just putting my foot forward and working hard every day.”
Payne and the other coaches have noticed.
“He’s been really good, really focused. In his words, ‘KP, I’m a dog.’ And, we love that because we need a team full of dogs,” Payne said Monday.
What does being a “dog” mean to Payne?
“In my dictionary, it means an alpha. That I will fight you for everything you get. I’m not just a white kid that can shoot. I can play,” Payne joked.
“I guess I don’t want to be labeled just ’cause I’m white that I’m a shooter.’ If you don’t look at my skin color and we just go play basketball, you’re not going to say I’m a white kid that can just shoot,” Herro said.
He can shoot but he can do so much more, including rebounding.
“I think that what is happening for Tyler Herro, right in front of our eyes, is non-basketball people are looking at him saying he’s missing shots. Basketball people are looking at Tyler saying, ‘Man, his energy. Man, he can pass. Man, he’s defending. He does a little bit of everything. He can drive to the basket,'” Payne said. “So, there’s people being so concerned with shooting that they’re forgetting and not noticing exactly what he’s bringing to the table.”
Payne is not surprised by what Herro has done. Instead, Payne says Herro is doing exactly the same things he’s always done.
“That’s one of the things that he takes pride in, one of the responsibilities of him walking into this program is, ‘I’m coming here to show people that I’m not just a shooter. I’m going after people. I can play. I can put it on the floor. I’ve got wiggles. I’ve got swag. You name it, I got it,'” Payne said.