UK MBB Signees Herro, Johnson Selected for Nike Hoop Summit
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Just a week removed from earning selection to the Jordan Brand Classic, Kentucky men’s basketball signees Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson were tapped Tuesday to appear in the 21st annual Nike Hoop Summit in April.
The annual international all-star game features the USA Basketball Men’s Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The game previously rotated throughout various US cities, but found a permanent home in Portland, Oregon, in 2008. This year’s game will take place on April 13 in the Moda Center, home of the Portland Trailblazers.
Johnson, along with the third piece of Kentucky’s star-studded class, Immanuel Quickley, will also play in the McDonald’s All American Game on March 28 in Philips Arena in Atlanta.
UK has had multiple players compete in every Nike Hoop Summit during the John Calipari era. Since Calipari’s arrival, 28 total players have been selected for the Nike Hoop Summit.
Herro and Johnson will suit up for Team USA, joining Isaiah Briscoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, De’Aaron Fox, Wenyen Gabriel, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Archie Goodwin, Quade Green, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight, Kevin Knox, Nerlens Noel, Julius Randle, Marquis Teague, Jarred Vanderbilt and John Wall as other Calipari signees to suit up for the Red, White and Blue.
Former UK players who suited up for the World Select Team include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Enes Kanter, Skal Labissiere, Trey Lyles, Jamal Murray, Nick Richards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kyle Wiltjer and Tai Wynyard.
A 6-foot-6 shooting guard out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, Johnson is a consensus five-star player and one of the best in the class of 2018. A native of South Hill, Virginia, he previously played for Huntington Prep in Huntington, West Virginia, before transferring to Oak Hill for the 2017-18 season. Johnson is ranked as high as the No. 6 overall prospect by ESPN. 247Sports ranks him as the nation’s No. 13 overall player while Rivals has him at No. 14.
Johnson led his Boo Williams (Va.) AAU team to the semifinals of the Peach Jam after averaging 20.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists during the Nike regular season. Johnson took home MVP honors at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in June. Johnson, who is averaging 22.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists for powerhouse Oak Hill this season, was one of 54 players selected for the USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp in October.
Herro is having one of the best seasons in the country among all high school players nationally. Herro, out of Whitnall High School in Greenfield, Wisconsin, is averaging 32.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.3 steals per game.
Herro, a 6-5 shooting guard, is connecting on better than 50 percent from the floor, 43.5 percent from behind the arc and could eclipse 100 3-pointers in the state playoffs. He’s scored 40 or more points in eight games this season. The top-ranked player out of Wisconsin, Herro is tabbed No. 25 overall by ESPN, No. 32 by 247 Sports and No. 35 by Rivals. Like Johnson, he was one of 54 players selected for the USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp in October.
In every season in the Calipari era, the Wildcats have signed a top-three recruiting class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which tallies major recruiting rankings and plugs them into a formula to calculate a consensus ranking.
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