Badger Bits: Wisconsin recruit Tyler Herro’s game winner; Sam Dekker engaged

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.

You’ll probably see this message a lot today, but please remember and honor those who fought and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country.

We hope our readers have had an enjoyable weekend so far, whether you’ve made treks elsewhere for a getaway with friends and family (check your feeds for tons of cabin or cottage photos, amirite?) or held a party yourself.

There’s plenty to be intrigued by within Wisconsin basketball recruiting, and not just with the upcoming class of 2017 recruits Brad Davison, Kobe King, and Nathan Reuvers.

Class of 2018 shooting guard Tyler Herro committed to the Badgers back in September of last year. Yesterday, in playing for the Wisconsin Playground Elite AAU squad, the in-state phenom hit a game-winning shot to beat the New York Lightning 74-72 in 17U Nike EYBL play.

Herro scored 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting with six rebounds and six assists. He’s currently rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports, 247Sports Composite, ESPN, Rivals, and Scout. He’s currently the 22nd-ranked player in the country by ESPN, 43rd by Scout, 67th by Rivals, and 87th by 247 (51st in composite rankings).

On to the rest of the Badger links:

• As we noted yesterday, the Wisconsin Badgers made the top 10 for New Jersey product Jayson Oweh. He announced the decision over Twitter, with UW now competing against the likes of Ohio State and Penn State, among others. Both BadgerNation.com’s Ben Worgull and BadgerBlitz.com’s Jon McNamara have noted previously that the 6’5, 236-pound Oweh, whose recruiting process has appeared to skyrocket with his Opening and Under Armour camp performances, is being recruited as a tight end in Paul Chryst’s offense.
• ESPN’s Dan Murphy asked the question of which Big Ten team has the best run defense in the conference. He gave the honor to Wisconsin, noting how the “front seven is loaded with depth, talent and experience again.” You can’t doubt his logic there, as the defense has the ability to shine and be dominant once again in 2017, even with a third defensive coordinator in as many years (and a very talented up-and-coming assistant in Jim Leonhard).
• Congrats to the Wisconsin track and field student-athletes who earned berths in the NCAA championships, which will take place in Eugene, Ore., from June 7-10.

• The Camp Randall 100 celebration continues, with UW celebrating the likes of former player and coach John R. Richards, quarterback Matt Schabert, running back John Clay, and, yes, even former college football player and eventual movie star Burt Reynolds (seriously on the Smokey and the Bandit).
• Former Wisconsin Badgers and current Houston Rockets forward Sam Dekker proposed to the extremely talented and rising sports reporter Olivia Harlan recently (and she accepted!).

Congrats to the young couple. Harlan even has a request for fans for their wedding celebration: