West Virginia guard Sherman overcomes odds to make it to 'big stage'
Taz Sherman couldn’t help but chuckle when he was presented the question.
In a media scrum a reporter pointed over to the infamous treadmill and asked if the newest member of the West Virginia basketball program had spent any time on it since enrolling in Morgantown July 13.
“No, I plan to stay off that thing as long as possible. I don’t want to go over there,” he said. “Hopefully I continue to do what I do here and just continue to stay off that thing for sure.”
Still even the lingering fear of the treadmill while playing at a high-major Big 12 Conference School is far removed from where Sherman found himself as a high school senior.
He attended high school at Fort Bend Thurgood Marshall helping his team reach the Class 5A state title game as a double-digit scoring contributor but even as a full qualifier wasn’t recruited.
Teammates of his certainly were and signed with programs such as in the cases of John Walker (Texas A&M) and Jabari Rice (New Mexico State) but not Sherman.
In fact, Sherman didn’t receive a single division one, two or even three scholarship offer and even unsuccessfully tried out for some opportunities as well.
“Nobody offered me,” he said.
Still, Sherman didn’t give up on himself and continued to believe that all he needed was an opportunity.
“Houston has a lot of underrated talent and I knew I was one of those. I wanted to not be underrated anymore, I wanted to be that guy,” he said.
Only two junior colleges offered Sherman in Itawamba C.C. in Mississippi and Collin County College in Texas but even that wasn’t a slam dunk. He took a visit to Collin without an offer in hand and earned one once he participated in open gym and as he describes it “dribbled between his legs.”
The versatile guard committed on the spot and quickly blossomed averaging 15.2 points per game and shooting 49-percent from the field earning an offer from Texas State at the end of the season.
After performing well at a junior college all-American camp in the off-season more offers came from UTEP and Texas San-Antonio, so he made the decision to remain at Collin another year despite again being a full qualifier and eligible to move onto division one basketball.
Sherman believed more were going to come after showcasing his ability.
“I wanted to play on the big stage,” he said.
He made a splash early in his sophomore season scoring 47 points in a win against Grayson College in the second game of the year and later would score 46 against conference rival Ranger. The once non-recruited prospect scored double-figures in every single game he played and averaged 25.9 points per game while setting six Collin County records in the process.
Sherman had arrived and was on the radar of multiple programs including those that provided the stage he desired such as West Virginia, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Kansas just to name a few. He impressed as a versatile guard that could play the one or the two while showcasing an ability not only to put the ball on the floor but range shooting 40-percent from three.
“My versatility on ball and off ball and I think my mid-range game is a little slept on,” he said. “A lot of people don’t do that anymore.”
His exploits caught the watchful eyes of Bob Huggins who was looking for some immediate impact guards after a 15-21 campaign the year before. In Sherman he saw exactly that and he quickly prioritized the talented junior college prospect.
In Huggins Sherman saw many of the same qualities he had in his high school and junior college coaches with an intensity and focus on the defensive side as well as a hall-of-fame pedigree to develop him. After meeting with the current players and seeing the town he didn’t need any more convincing.
How different is West Virginia from a fan interest level from his previous stops?
“I’ve signed four autographs already and I haven’t touched a ball,” he said.
Sherman is expected to play both the one and the two at West Virginia and already has impressed in the limited sample size that Huggins has been able to observe.
“Taz can score. He’s very versatile. At his junior college they had bigs that could make shots, so they could spread you a little bit and they ISO’d him. He’s really good in the post, scored a lot in the post for them,” Huggins said. “He’s really consistent, at least he has been to this point, jump shooter with a lot of range. And he bounces it, he’s athletic so he can get it to the rim.”
Since arriving in Morgantown the biggest adjustment has come with the new terminology as well as the speed of the game but unsurprisingly Sherman has embraced the challenge.
“I had to push forward and realize that I know what type of player I am and I know I can get to this type of level,” Sherman said.
So if Sherman ever is sent to that dreaded treadmill, which playing under Huggins is a near certainty, don't feel too bad considering all he has overcome to even get to this point and be at this level in the first place.
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