Zion Williamson Once Called Tyler Herro the ‘Most Underrated’ Prospect in America

Not many basketball fans saw Tyler Herro‘s rise to stardom coming a few years ago. But Zion Williamson did.

Herro and Williamson were in the same high school recruiting class back in 2018. Williamson was the No. 2 recruit behind Duke teammate R.J. Barrett, but Herro was all the way down at No. 30. The sharpshooter did end up playing for John Calipari at Kentucky, but he wasn’t mentioned in the same tier as Williamson at the time.

Herro turned out to be one of the most successful players from the 2018 class, and Williamson was one of the few who saw it coming.

Tyler Herro was the No. 30 recruiting prospect in the 2018 class

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Herro didn’t exactly come out of no where to become a star for the Kentucky Wildcats and, later, the Miami Heat. The shooting guard was actually the No. 30 recruiting prospect in the nation as a senior in 2018.

He was ranked ahead of Texas’ Jaxon Hayes, Minnesota’s Daniel Oturu, and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu in the class, and for a good reason. Herro scored 32.9 points per game as a senior at Whitnall High School in Greenfield, Wis., and he received a scholarship to play at the prestigious University of Kentucky.

In his lone season at Kentucky, Herro scored 14.0 points per game and shot 46.2% from the field.

Williamson called Herro the ‘most underrated’ prospect in the 2018 class

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Herro wasn’t as much of a highly anticipated recruit in 2018 partly because of the player who stole all the headlines in the class — Zion Williamson.

Williamson’s infamous high school highlight tape took the basketball world by storm. He could dunk from seemingly anywhere on the floor, which is much more fun to watch than a scrawny sharpshooter.

Herro might not have been as hyped up as Williamson, but Williamson himself saw how special Herro could be while they were both in high school.

“Tyler is the most underrated player in our class,” Williamson told Kentucky Sports Radio at the time. “He’s a very smooth and skilled scorer, and I feel like it goes unnoticed at times.”

Herro appreciated the kind words from his colleague.

“Right now, Zion is one of the best players in the country. For him to say that, I really appreciate that,” Herro said. “But I’m going to continue to work every day and get better each and every day.”

Herro has been one of the best rookies all season

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Williamson was one of the few who saw greatness in Herro at a young age, and he sure turned out to be right.

In his first season in the NBA, Herro averaged 13.5 points per game and shot 38.9% from three with the Heat. He finished the regular season as the sixth-highest-scoring rookie in the league even though he played fewer minutes per game than every name above him.

Herro has been even better in the postseason, too. He’s averaging 14.4 points per game and shooting 40% from deep in the playoffs. He’s become one of the go-to clutch players down the stretch for Miami, which is rare for a rookie.

All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference