COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — As the son of a former Tyner Academy star and the youngest of four brothers who have played for other basketball programs in Chattanooga, Notre Dame sophomore Gaas Herman wasn't the first in his family to step on the hardwood and stand out.
And yet he still has a chance to be the first one in the group to do something very special.
When the Fighting Irish (23-9) take on Goodpasture (31-2) in the Division II-A final of the BlueCross Basketball State Championships at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Tennessee Tech University, Gaas (pronounced Jase) will be the third member in his family to play for a TSSAA state title. However, just as the Irish are seeking the program's first championship, Gaas has a chance to break through for the Herman household.
His father, Geoff Herman Sr., carried Tyner to its lone state finals appearance in 1990, and Brandon Herman starred for Grace Baptist Academy in the championship round in 2010. That type of opportunity is still ahead for the youngest Herman, but he was immaculate in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame's 68-62 semifinal victory over Bell Buckle's Webb School on Thursday.
He began the final period with a bang as he broke a 39-all tie by hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the right wing with 7:42 to play, but the breakout underclassman was far from done. Herman added a steal and a score to break another tie, had a pull-up jumper roll in, and also hit a 3 in front of the Notre Dame bench off a toss back from DJ Brown to build a 50-44 lead with 5:31 remaining. His third and final 3 gave him 11 points in a span of just 2 minutes and 11 seconds.
Herman made all five of his field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter as he scored 15 of his season-high 24 points in the decisive final eight minutes to help Notre Dame break through, with the Irish earning their first berth in the title game in their fifth semifinal appearance.
"It seems like the bigger the game, the better Gaas plays," Irish coach Jonathan Adams said Thursday. "What he is doing as just a sophomore on the big stage is really impressive. He carried us today. His fourth-quarter performance was special."
The star showing for Herman should come as no surprise when looking at his family history.
Geoff Sr. scored 79 points in the Class 3A state tournament in 1990, including 35 points and six 3-pointers in a 74-72 quarterfinal victory over Beech. Tyner lost 69-52 to Science Hill in the title game, but Geoff Sr. went on to star in college, scoring 1,530 points and making 197 3-pointers in two seasons with Austin Peay and East Tennessee State University.
Twenty years later, Brandon helped Grace to its third state runner-up finish, scoring 33 points in an 82-77 double-overtime loss to Clarksville Academy in the Class A final. He is the Golden Eagles' all-time leading scorer with 2,564 points.
The family basketball lineage doesn't stop there as two more Herman brothers also excelled for local programs. Geoff Jr. was a standout from 2004-08 for the Brainerd Panthers, who went 83-38 in his four seasons, and Kaden just finished his prep basketball career at East Hamilton this season and had close to 1,500 points.
The Irish haven't been ranked all season, but they are on incredible run with 14 wins in their past 15 games, and Gaas has been central to their success. He's tied with junior teammate Cole McCormick with 94 points in Notre Dame's six postseason victories.
There could be no better conclusion to the season for Gaas than hoisting a gold ball trophy that would be the first for the Hermans and the Irish.
"Our team has been very motivated to become the best team in school history," he said. "Now we want to win a state championship. We all want to do this for each other and bring a championship back home."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.