Schnider Herard can be The Haitian Sensation

The Mississippi State Bulldogs Men’s Basketball team signed a talented but raw prospect when they landed Schnider Herard in the 2016 Signing Class. Herard has had a difficult time learning to play at the collegiate level. But yesterday against the Texas A&M Aggies, Herard went off for 16 points on 5-7 filed goal attempts and 6-8 free throws. He only had four rebounds, but Herard was the only player capable of matching up with the size of Texas A&M, so it isn’t surprising he wasn’t able to get a lot of rebounds.

This could be the game Schnider Herard starts to become more of a factor for the Bulldogs. He spent most of his life playing soccer in his native country of Haiti, and it explains why Herard has had a harder time coming along than most of the rest of the players. But if we are going to start seeing Schnider Herard become a beast in front of our eyes, he’ll need a nickname. And I unveiled the best one possible yesterday on Twitter while watching the game.

This was right after Schnider Herard had the tip in before halftime to give the Bulldogs a 25-24 lead going into the locker room. The Bulldogs were struggling to get any offense going against the length of the Aggies, but Herard was doing his best to keep them in the game.

Herard finished the first half with 10 of his 16 points and was the best source of offense for the Bulldogs. With Herard being a threat offensively, the Aggies began to collapse their defense further down in the paint to account for Herard. And during the second half, the rest of the Bulldogs took advantage.

Quinndary Weatherspoon had 0 points in the first half on 0-3 shooting, but scored 13 in the second half. The Bulldogs as a team shot 6-25 from the floor but ramped up to 13-19 and finished a solid 19-44.

I have said all along the quicker Schnider Herard figures things out, the quicker the Bulldogs will look like the team we have envisioned they can be. He’s the only true low post player the team has with Abdul Ado not being declared eligible until next season. The team is built along the perimeter, but if there is not threat on the inside for the Bulldogs, then opposing team will camp out on the outside and just wait for the Bulldogs to take bad shots.

A dynamic scoring option on the low post keeps the defense honest. 247 Sports had Herard as the highest rated player in the signing class, and if he can become one of the best and most consistent players on the team, then the Haitian Sensation will be a big reason why the Bulldogs could be one of the best teams in the SEC.