Taz Sherman is Finding his Stride Through "Being Myself"
Morgantown, WV – Last year at Collin College in McKinney, Texas, Taz Sherman averaged 25.9 points per game on 49% shooting from the field including 39.9% from three-point range. His ability to score is exactly the reason why West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins brought Taz to Morgantown.
However, Taz has had a bit of a slow start transitioning at the Division one level. Although he’s shown flashes at times during the season, the production hasn’t quite been there. Sherman averaged 3.8 points per game during non-conference play but had a career-high 10 points on the road versus Youngstown State, a game where the Mountaineers were looking for some offense.
“I think the hard thing is they’re trying to figure out what’s going on,” said Huggins “It’s hard to play and think. You really play and react; you don’t play and think. When you play well, you’re reacting. You’re reacting to what goes on because you’ve already practiced it and done it, and you understand what you do in different situations. Early in the year, those guys were thinking too much and not reacting, and now they’re starting to react. They’re starting to understand what’s asked of them, and consequently, they’re playing better. You don’t think. You don’t have time to think. You react.”
Despite only scoring 13 points in his first five Big 12 games, Sherman’s confidence level rose in the last two games and now the results are starting to show in the box score as well. Most recently, following a seven-point performance over Texas, he put up nine points in eight minutes, a point shy of tying his Mountaineer career-high, in the 74-51 victory over Missouri Saturday afternoon.
“I tell you what, he’s worked his butt off,” said Huggins. “Larry (Associate head coach Larry Harrison) said to me ‘the first perimeter guy – who you want?’ I said ‘Taz.’ I mean, he’s earned it. He’s worked like crazy. He hadn’t pouted. He wasn’t a very good defender as he shouldn’t have been because he was getting 30 a game. You don’t want your guy getting 30 a game to get into foul trouble. He’s worked at it. He’s gotten better and better and the ball is starting to go in for him.”
“I definitely feel more like myself, just getting to my spots, not really just trying to become a three-point shooter because that’s not really what I am. I’m a scorer first,” said Sherman. “I can shoot but I’m a scorer first, so I want to make sure I just don’t settle for a lot of threes. I want to get to my mid-range, I want to get to my post-ups, get to the rim just playing defense… Everything is going for me once I’m locked in on defense. Get a good stop, I’m locked in on offense.”
Taz is starting to play like a seasoned veteran, understanding what's expected of him and rising over defenders, confidently, delivering buckets like he's been accustomed to.
“It was out of my head I’d say five games ago and stuff just wasn’t going my way. But now, I’m just being myself again, just getting to everything I used to get to in JUCO. I’m playing like me and just not trying to play like everyone thinks I am.”
Taz and the Mountaineers are back in action on Wednesday at 8:00 pm est on ESPN-Plus to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
