Herzog finds a home in Florida with UCF

Sometimes you have to look in odd places to find what you're looking for.

In the case of Knights center Tom Herzog, he had to go farther away from home to find his home. The Michigan State transfer and Flint, Mich., native seems to have found a home here in Orlando.

"I've got a whole new attitude about basketball," Herzog said. "I'm excited to be a part of this team."

So far it's shown.

Herzog is averaging an impressive 2.8 blocks per game, in addition to his 6.2 points per game. His ability to swat away shots has provided a spark for the Knights at multiple times, most notably against Bethune-Cookman earlier in the season.

Herzog, who didn't play the first half of the contest because of an injury, came off the bench wearing a soft cast on his left wrist and immediately blocked a shot, one of what would eventually total to be eight blocks for the night. That tied a school record. He also added 14 points that night.

When he walked off the floor that night he was greeted by a standing ovation, the first of his college career.

It's the kind of game both Herzog and Knights head coach Donnie Jones envisioned when he transferred during the offseason.

"That's why I came down here, to get the opportunity to play," Herzog said. "I've known I have the ability, I'm just really thankful to UCF and Coach Jones for the opportunity."

Herzog missed two games from the wrist injury and wore the soft cast on his left wrist for six games. The injury caused Herzog's minutes to be limited, with Jones trying to only go to the seven-footer when absolutely necessary.

Despite the injury and limited minutes, Herzog has still been able to make a splash and help make this squad one of the top shot-blocking units in the country. UCF is tied with UConn for second in the nation averaging 7.1 blocks per game. Arkansas leads the nation with 7.4.

Jones said that Herzog is going to be a huge asset for the team as the Knights enter conference play.

Chemistry is everything and the Knights seem to have found a nice connection between Herzog and standout sophomore Keith Clanton. When the two big men share the floor, it creates a tough dynamic thanks to Clanton's superb passing ability, with Clanton often finding Herzog for easy buckets.

"I can definitely tell, at least I can see, there's definitely a bond between a couple bigs," said Herzog of the budding combination.

Clanton, who felt the pinch of not having enough big men on the roster with him last season, definitely appears to appreciate Hergzog's contribution.

"He's meant a lot … He helps if I can't guard a bigger dude sometimes," Clanton said. "Tom's going to block the most shots. Without him, I don't think we'd be [where we are]. He's just a big help."

For Herzog, perhaps the hardest thing was that he was leaving home. As a Michigan native, Herzog saw Michigan State as a perfect destination. But Herzog never truly thrived in the Spartan's system, and took his opportunity to come down to Florida and make a new home.

"Everyone's done a really good job helping me get used to [the move to UCF]," said Herzog, who notes that the most difficult part was sacrificing the comfort of being so close to his family.

"I'm loving it down here."