May 13, 2010
By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF men's basketball head coach Donnie Jones announced Thursday that Tom Herzog has signed a grant-in-aid and will transfer to UCF from Michigan State. Herzog is a 7-foot center from Flint, Mich., who will have one year of eligibility with the Knights.
Herzog appeared in 44 career contests at Michigan State, where he was a member of two Final Four teams. After concluding his senior season at Flint Powers High School, he was rated as the seventh-best center in the country by Rivals.com.
Because he has already earned his bachelor's degree, and redshirted during the 2006-07 campaign, Herzog will have the opportunity to be eligible immediately at UCF if he meets NCAA fifth-year transfer requirements.
"Tom has been in a great program in Michigan State, a program that has had great success nationally," Jones said. "He improved as a player while learning from one of the great coaches in the game in Tom Izzo. He can run the floor well and has a good feel for the game. I think the biggest thing for Tom is getting a chance to play. He has an opportunity to come in and contribute to our team and will offer some much-needed frontcourt help."
In 2009-10, Herzog appeared in 15 contests. He averaged 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 3.7 minutes per contest. The center shot 81.8 percent from the field, making 9-of-11 attempts. As a sophomore, Herzog played in 16 games, making one start. The Spartans advanced to the Final Four in both 2010 and 2009.
As a senior in high school, Herzog averaged 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game. He finished second in the Michigan Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award voting and garnered all-state honors from several media outlets.
The UCF ticket sales office is currently accepting season-ticket deposits for the campaign at (407) UCF-1000 or online at UCFAthletics.com. By placing their deposit now, fans will receive a free 2010-11 NIKE Knightmare t-shirt with their ticket purchase. Season tickets start at just $99.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.