LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Through Kentucky's first nine games, freshman Tyler Herro made only 25 percent of his 3-point shots (11 of 44) and a pedestrian 41.8 percent of all his shots (38 of 91).
Cover your eyes obsessive UK fans. Associate coach Kenny Payne all but dismissed Herro's misses with a shrug and a so-what?
"We want basketball players," Payne said Thursday. "If you want to be a shooter, and just be a shooter, (you) should have probably gone to another school. This is a basketball player's school."
There was an irony amidst the fretting about Herro's shooting. Herro himself recoiled from the label of a shooter. He spoke with pride of being an all-around player, not a mere shooter.
UK coaches took solace in Herro's all-around play in those first nine games. He finished drives to the basket. "With both hands, either way," Payne said approvingly. He cut into passing lanes for steals that began opportunities for scores in transition. Although teased by UK coach John Calipari about a lack of passing skill, Herro remains among the team leaders in assists.
But Herro's shooting stubbornly remained a topic of conversation.
Herro worked tirelessly on his shooting. "He works hard," Keldon Johnson said. "No doubt. You can ask anybody on the team."
Payne talked about Herro practicing two to three times a day. The problem, Payne said, was he did not duplicate his form from practices and workouts in games.
Payne suggested that anxiety about the need to make shots in games was the reason.
"Everybody's talking about jump shots," Payne said. "His dad. Shooting coaches. Coaches here. High school coach. AAU ... .
"This is a basketball player's school. And he's proven he can do all of it. So the great lesson for him is 'I was shooting 25, 26 percent from three. But I was averaging 14, 15 points and I was getting layups, mid-range (shots), steals, offensive rebounds, floaters. That's the lesson."
Actually, Herro averaged 10.6 points in those first nine games.
In the last three games, he's made 23 of 42 shots (nine of 20 from 3-point range) and averaged 18.7 points.
During the first nine games, Herro's confidence did not wane, Johnson said.
"I know what Tyler can do, and he knows what I can do," Johnson said. "We both believe in ourselves. We're confident players."
