The crazy summer of Jacob Herrs: from WSU walk-on to Indiana GA to training NBA MVPs
Three months ago, Jacob Herrs was prepared to join the corporate work force.
He had just graduated from Wichita State, where he had wrapped up a four-year career as a walk-on for the men’s basketball team, and he even had a sales job lined up with Ashley Furniture in Wichita. The Andover native was ready for a quiet summer.
Instead, the craziest three months of Herrs’ life have unfolded.
He still hasn’t unpacked all of his belongings in Bloomington, Indiana, where he now lives after moving there on a moment’s notice back in July to accept a position as a graduate assistant for Indiana University. His new boss is Mike Woodson, who used to coach the New York Knicks, and he’s now a part of one of college basketball’s blue bloods. Just last month, Herrs was on a week-long trip to the Bahamas, where the Hoosiers played two exhibition games.
And that’s not even the craziest part.
That came last week when Herrs was invited to New York City to help work out with former NBA MVP and current Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook, who just so happened to be Herrs’ boyhood idol.
“It’s like I don’t even know how or why I’m here right now, but I’m going to enjoy every moment of this,” Herrs said. “It makes no sense, but I definitely had to remind myself that none of this happened on my own. Even getting the walk-on spot at Wichita State. None of it was just done by me. I have so many people in my corner and I’m so grateful to have an amazing support system.
“I definitely have to pinch myself sometimes. If I’m ever having a bad day, all I have to do is look at where I’m at now. It really is incredible.”
So how did a 22-year-old walk-on from Wichita State end up landing a coveted GA spot at one of the most prestigious college men’s basketball programs and train with a former NBA MVP all in the same summer?
The story begins with Herrs’ friendship with WSU star Tyson Etienne.
It’s not often a star the caliber of Etienne spends the time to get to know a player at the bottom of the food chain. But in their two seasons together at WSU, Etienne made it a point to become close friends with both of the walk-ons, Herrs and Brycen Bush. So much so that when WSU’s athletic department tried to save money last season during the coronavirus pandemic by not including Herrs and Bush on road trips, Etienne took a stand and said he wouldn’t travel unless the walk-ons were included. As a result, Herrs and Bush made every road trip last season.
Because of Etienne’s close relationship with Herrs, it meant his inner circle from back home was also around Herrs a lot. That’s where Isaac Green enters the story.
Green was Etienne’s summer-ball coach when he played for the PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL circuit. When Green visited Etienne in Wichita, Green and Herrs quickly became friendly. Fast forward to this summer and when Green was hired by Woodson as a graduate assistant and told Indiana might need one more GA, he immediately thought it would be fun to go through the experience with Herrs.
After waiting on results of the vetting process, Herrs finally received a call from Indiana informing him he was being hired in mid-July. He left most of his belongings in a Wichita apartment where he was roommates with Bush, packed a bag of clothes and drove to Bloomington soon after.
He spent his first few weeks in Bloomington sleeping on the couch of different manager’s apartments. Back in Wichita, his family had to pack up the rest of his belongings in his apartment in a moving truck. It took nearly a full month for Herrs to fully settle in Bloomington, but he wouldn’t change anything about the experience so far.
“It was such a special opportunity that doesn’t just come around all the time,” Herrs said. “If this would have been any other program, I would have had to think a little bit extra on it. But it was just a perfect situation and such a great coaching staff to learn from.”
Green was also how Herrs ended up in New York City training with Westbrook. Green’s mentor is popular NBA skills trainer Chris Brickley, who invited him to come to NYC during Fashion Week when many NBA stars would be in the city looking to work out. Green asked Herrs if he wanted to tag along and he didn’t hesitate to say yes.
On the second day they were there, Herrs was woken up by Green who informed him they would be working out with Russell Westbrook in 40 minutes and to get ready. Herrs was in disbelief.
“That’s my favorite NBA player,” Herrs said. “You can ask my friends, my family. Ever since I was a kid going to the OKC Thunder games, I’ve loved Russell Westbrook.”
Herrs ended up working out with Westbrook a total of three times. He usually just passed the ball to him for jumpers or rebounded for him, but he also occasionally played defense on the NBA star during drills. Herrs, a former high jump star at Andover High School, said Westbrook particularly enjoyed when he would try to jump with the NBA star at the rim.
After spending time around Westbrook, both on and off the court, Herrs said his hero lived up to his expectations.
“He was even cooler than I could have imagined,” Herrs said. “People always say you don’t want to meet your idols because they could leave the wrong impression on you. But I’m so glad I got to meet him because this dude was literally the coolest version of himself that I could have imagined. He was super nice, super outgoing, super engaging. He would laugh and make jokes. It was so awesome.”
Perhaps just as special to Herrs was how his final day in New York City ended.
After his final training session with Westbrook at Life Time Athletic, Herrs stuck around to watch the famous “Black Ops” pick-up games organized by Brickley that routinely feature NBA players. This time, NBA players like Carmelo Anthony, Julius Randle, Kyle Anderson and P.J. Tucker showed up to play.
“They ended up only having nine, so they needed one more to play and I got the chance to step in and play with them,” Herrs said. “I probably played four out of the six games. I was playing on Melo’s team, against Melo. I got to play with P.J. and Julius and Kyle and against them. It was so crazy being on the court and seeing just how talented those guys are.”
Three months ago, Herrs didn’t see a future in basketball.
But after this wild summer, he wants to see where else the game can take him.
“I’m not going to lie, I took the (Indiana job) because I thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up on and if I didn’t like it, then it would still be an awesome experience,” Herrs said. “But now I’m really loving what I’m doing and I think I want to work in basketball as long as I can, whether that’s in the NBA or in college. I’m not saying I want to be a head coach or anything, but just being involved somehow in basketball is what I love the most.”
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