Tyler Herro, Kentucky’s ‘Boy Wonder,’ rescues the Cats against Houston

Even with the win-or-go-home tension of the NCAA Tournament, Tyler Herro making a clutch three-point shot inside the final 30 seconds Friday night seemed almost inevitable.

The truly startling thing came with 7:22 left in UK’s 62-58 victory over Houston in the Midwest Region semifinals. Herro missed a free throw.

Among those surprised was Herro.

“When he missed the free throw, he looked at me and said, ‘Man, I don’t know what’s going on,’” PJ Washington said. “I said, ‘Chill, you Boy Wonder.’”

Herro had not missed a free throw since the first Tennessee game on Feb. 16. He’d missed only one since the North Carolina game on Dec. 22.

Since Kentucky beat UNC, Herro had made 68 of 69 free throws. That’s a shooting accuracy of 98.6 percent.

Associate Coach Kenny Payne pointed out that Herro made two game-clinching clinching free throws with 13.7 seconds left.

Payne called Herro’s missed free throw “unbelievable. We were shocked.”

Herro’s three-pointer with 25.8 seconds left, giving UK a 60-58 lead, was no surprise.

The sequence began with Herro starting a fast-break, then passing ahead to Keldon Johnson.

“Keldon looked for a lane to drive and had nothing,” Herro said. “Kicked it back to me. Once I saw it was on its way back to me, I was ready to shoot it.”

Asked if he had faith that the shot would be good, Herro said, “Every time I shoot, I think it’s going to go in.”

Payne said the coaches could take no bows for setting up Herro’s three-pointer.

“Not called,” he said. “Thank God it was not called. … Just basketball players making basketball plays.”

You gotta believe

Washington’s contributions included 16 points, almost 27 minutes of playing time. He also played the role of encourager.

Washington said he tried to bolster his teammates’ belief that the game could be won despite Houston rallying to take the lead.

Payne described Washington’s contribution as “‘I’m not going to allow my team to lose.’”

As for Washington’s presence in the timeout huddles, Payne said, “The game was headed in (Houston’s) direction. The way he handled the huddle (by saying), ‘C’mon. Just keep fighting, guys. We got it.’

“That’s a leader.”

Homecoming?

Of course, Reid Travis went into this weekend two Kentucky victories away from returning to his hometown of Minneapolis to play in the Final Four. The same was true for one of his high school teammates: Geno Crandall of Gonzaga.

“A lot of people from outside my circle from Minneapolis are excited,” Travis said. “If I can make it back home, it’d be a great accomplishment and a very happy moment for a lot of people. But everybody in my inner circle as far as my family understand it’s one game at a time.

“It’s naïve to try to shut it out. I try to embrace it. It’s motivation for me.”

Sweat equity

While sidelined with a sprained foot, PJ Washington watched games from the bench.

“I’ve definitely seen a lot more stuff,” he said Thursday. For instance, “when guys are tired, they stop playing on defense.”

When asked if he now can relate better to Calipari in terms of in-game anxiety, Washington said, “Yeah, I can. I was over there sweating just like he does.”

Long-time competitors

Washington and Houston forward Fabian White, Jr., had been competing against each other long before Friday’s game. With Washington from Dallas and White from Atascocita, Texas, the two grew up as competitors.

“I started playing him in, like, second grade,” Washington said. White played on the same team as ex-Cat Jarred Vanderbilt.

With a smile, Washington said of those games, “We tended to always win.”

Etc.

Guy Lewis, much-maligned as a coach, won 26 NCAA Tournament games for Houston. The Cougars had won a total of 29 going into the game against Kentucky.

This story was originally published March 30, 2019 at 3:02 AM.