Meet the Bulldogs: Schnider Herard

There’s a lot of buzz around the newest batch of recruits for the Mississippi St. Bulldogs Men’s Basketball team. With all of the shooting and perimeter play being added, that has where a lot of the focus has been. But there might not be a more important addition to the roster than Schnider Herard.

Depending on which recruiting service you choose to listen to, Schnider Herard was the highest or second highest recruit signed by Coach Ben Howland. If you use 247 Sports Composite rating, which is supposed to be an average of all the recruiting services, Herard was just a few ticks higher than Mario Kegler.

Herard was the 47th highest rated player in the 2016 class, and 8th highest rated center in the country. He was a force to reckoned with in the low post for Prestonwood Christian Academy in Texas. Herard is a native of Haiti, but unlike Ado, all of his high school course work was completed in America so it wasn’t an issue getting him cleared.

Herard played well in the team’s trip to Italy where he averaged 8 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. He shined the most in the team’s game against the Kosovo National team when he scored 17 points and accumulated 11 rebounds.

I said earlier he might be the most important recruit the Bulldogs signed because of the lack of low post depth. If Ado can get cleared, it will help, but until that happens, Herard is going to be leaned upon heavily. There are other players who can play in the post like Aric Holman, but Holman also likes to play the perimeter as a stretch four. E.J. Datcher will help down low as well, but he will need a little more time to develop before he is making significant contributions to the team.

It will be important for the abundance of perimeter players the Bulldogs have to play well to make life simpler on Herard down low. If the guards and forwards are hitting their shots, then teams will have to extend their defenses to the outside which would free up Herard in the post. But even if they are struggling, Herard has the natural talent to be able to make plays on his own while having players crowding him on the inside. Schnider Herard will be a fun one to watch.