Rookie Herro shows support in UM colors
Former Kentucky guard says it’s a ’Canes thing
The braids are gone for Tyler Herro. Such are the whims of a 20-year-old.
But the University of Miami sweats the Miami Heat rookie guard has been sporting? Yes, it’s a ’Canes thing.
Just as other Heat players over the years have adopted South Florida’s teams, from the Miami Dolphins to the Miami Marlins to the Florida Panthers, and even a Heat team visit earlier this season to see Inter Miami CF play in Washington, Herro said he sees nothing wrong with a former Kentucky Wildcat sporting the orange and green of the Hurricanes.
“I mean, I’m in Miami, so I feel like I got to support, always,” he said during an appearance on the Heat’s Instagram Live feed.
The comments to Heat television host Jason Jackson, a longtime Hurricanes supporter, came in the wake of Herro recently posting three Instagram photos of himself in ’Canes gear.
“I’m always here to support,” he having previously thrown out a pitch at a Marlins game last July.
In some ways, the show of Hurricanes colors by the former Southeastern Conference standout is similar to Heat captain Udonis Haslem’s enduring passion for the Hurricanes football team after starring at the University of Florida.
“So I feel like while I’m in Miami,” Herro said, “which is I hope for a while, a said, first
Titans cornerback Logan Ryan celebrates after sacking the Texans’ AJ McCarron.
long time, forever, I’ll be able to rep Miami and everything that’s going on here.”
As for the braids that were featured in the photos while in ’Canes gear? They were gone from view by the time Herro appeared Tuesday on the Heat Instagram Live feed.
Having drawn mixed social-media reaction to the look he adopted last week, Herro addressed the change in look amid the NBA’s shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic.
Herro was introduced during Tuesday’s session by Jackson as Mr. Hairdo, with Jackson immediately noting on the split screen, “You made a change.”
And Herro did … for a good reason. “They were hurting the back of my neck, actually,” the No. 13 pick in last year’s draft said of the braids. “It started hurting after a couple of days. So I had to take ’em out.”
As for the story behind the braids, the rookie guard said it was nothing new.
“Uh, the story behind it was, I actually had braids earlier in the season,” he said. “I just didn’t like put them on social media or anything like that. I took ’em out, obviously before we played in games, stuff like that. I just wanted to see how they looked.”
Herro addressed the rection to the shortlived approach.
“I don’t really see ’em as a problem,” he said. “I see some people don’t like ’em. But I love ’em. I just think they look great on me. I want to get ’em back.”
Bam Adebayo and other teammates saw no issue.
“I talked to Bam on Facetime when he saw my hair,” Herro said. “Derrick Jones, he didn’t say much. Nobody really said anything. Some of ’em commented on my Instagram, they approved of it. But they know who I am. So, yeah.”
Earlier during the NBA shutdown, which began after the Heat’s March 11 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets, teammate Meyers Leonard dyed his hair Vice blue and pink as part of a charity drive.
Like Herro, Leonard also has since changed his look, now going more as a blonde, after starting the season with a significantly darker shade.