The Whitnall Falcons are headed to Madison for the first time since 2004. They’re just the fourth team in school history to qualify for state and they’re looking to grab the first title since 1988. Leading the way for the Falcons is sophomore Tyler Herro. He's averaging 25 points a game and ready to capture the state crown.
“Even though I'm only a sophomore, I try to lead the team to Madison,” Herro said. “That's what college coaches look for so I mean I'm just trying to be a leader and doing what I can do to make the team win,”
And winning is what they’ve been doing, 20-6 on the season, with their eyes on the gold ball. And while all four Division I schools in Wisconsin have their eye on the sophomore phenom, who is just eight points away from 1,000, Herro isn’t doing it alone. Take his sidekick: Kevion Taylor.
“He's been just doing humans work,” described Head Coach Steve Kujawa. “It's just been herculean efforts. You know last four games, double digit points and rebounds. He’s really coming into his own this year, a lot of confidence, as he calls it a lot of swag. I think that sometimes he doesn't mind playing Robin to Tyler Herro's Batman. He'd rather be in the background but he's really been in the forefront when Tyler's been struggling on occasion. We've been getting big buckets from him down the stretch.”
And neither he nor his team is done yet, more like #notdoneyet.
“I was the person that created the hashtag… so I don’t know if the kids are taking credit for that” Coach Kujawa said with a smile. It’s the team motto that means they have unfinished business to take care of.
“We're excited to be at state but we’re there to win it. We’re not there to simply play basketball.”
“We surprised a lot of people because we're the underdog,” explained junior forward Kevion Taylor. “We worked so hard to get here.
“We're shocking everyone,” said senior guard Austin Brault. “Two games away from making our dreams of winning state. We’re here now and it's amazing.”
