For the second time in 34 days, head basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski and his staff came up short on a highly-touted recruit in Milwaukee County. This time Tyler Herro, a 2018 guard and resident of Greenfield, Wisconsin, opted to attend Wisconsin.
Herro entertained offers from Arizona, Marquette, Creighton, Florida, Xavier and several other schools before announcing his commitment to second-year head coach Greg Gard’s program Monday afternoon on Twitter.
“Coach Gard did a phenomenal job attending so many games (Herro) was in,” Herro’s trainer Bryan Donaldson said. “I know that meant the world to Tyler.”
Donaldson specifically noted Gard’s attendance at Whitnall’s victory over Whitefish Bay last March to send the Falcons to State for the first time since 2004. Wojciechowski and assistant Brett Nelson were there as well.
Herro told the Wire in July that the most important factor in his recruitment would be the relationship he has with the coaching staff.
Nelson spearheaded the Golden Eagles’ pursuit of ESPN’s 25th-ranked 2018 prospect. Wojo welcomed Herro to open gyms on a regular basis and hosted him for an unofficial visit Aug. 29.
Donaldson raved about Herro’s work ethic and scoring ability, saying, “I’ve never seen a kid with his type of drive and dedication to working on his craft. He will push the seniors to get better, and in turn creating a very competitive environment at practice and in games.”
Donaldson added that he “couldn’t be more proud of not only a great player, but a better person.”
The other major recruit to escape Marquette’s grasp was Milwaukee Riverside forward Terrence Lewis, who committed to Steve Prohm and Iowa State Aug. 9.
Meanwhile, Herro is the highest-ranked recruit to commit to Gard and the first top 25 recruit to commit to the Badgers since Houston Rockets forward Sam Dekker committed there in 2012.
