Humphries

[harlanhomeboy_rivals210142]

A more conditioned, sophomore Humphries >>> freshman Bolden IMO

Of course I wanted Bolden, but Duke certainly needed him more than us. I believe if Humphries takes the summer seriously in terms of his body and training he will be better than having a frosh Bolden. That accompanied with Gabriel's sky high ceiling are the two X factors I see outside of the obvious in Briscoe and Lee returning.

 

[TruBluCatFan]

I don't know that I agree that Humphries will be better than Bolden but he will be much improved.

Let's not forget Humphries should only be graduating this year. Not unusual for kids to reclassify anymore but it is when they really do jump ahead a year. Most reclassifications end up putting kids back with their own age group.

Humphries turned 18 in January. Bolden last month. 3 month age difference.

 

[CatPhight_rivals65113]

Catfucius say: "Hump & Wynard conditioning with this man for year pay huge dividend in March"

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

Excited to see Humphries as a sophomore. He showed good flashes here and there.

 

[Randy Bob]

I thank Hump will be a good player, big body, good shooting touch, getting better all the time..

 

[drbubba]

Hump and Bam! Oh no. That sounds pretty bad.:flushed:

 

[Blue Decade]

A more conditioned, sophomore Humphries >>> freshman Bolden IMO

Of course I wanted Bolden, but Duke certainly needed him more than us. I believe if Humphries takes the summer seriously in terms of his body and training he will be better than having a frosh Bolden. That accompanied with Gabriel's sky high ceiling are the two X factors I see outside of the obvious in Briscoe and Lee returning.

You are correct. Thanks for some sanity, which places you in the minority today. Bolden made a good decision today. Signing Bolden would have been fine, but he would have struggled for playing time here early next season. I have been saying for weeks that Bolden would not have been an impact freshman here. People have been talking about Bolden like he is Anthony Davis, but Dakari Johnson is a much more accurate comp. Isaac Humphries is bigger, more experience, just as skilled. And as I have been saying for weeks, I definitely like Adebayo better than Bolden. That is no dig. I said the same before he announced. BTW, it is now obvious that the people who said Calipari cleared out Matthews to make room for Bolden were clueless.

 

[ulismyman]

Like Humphries...has a nasty side

 

[Blue Decade]

I don't know that I agree that Humphries will be better than Bolden.

I think you will find that you are underestimating Humphries. Bolden is a good prospect, not an impact prospect. Humphries has a lot of talent, more size than Bolden, and a year of college basketball experience.

 

[mattadam]

A more conditioned, sophomore Humphries >>> freshman Bolden IMO

Of course I wanted Bolden, but Duke certainly needed him more than us. I believe if Humphries takes the summer seriously in terms of his body and training he will be better than having a frosh Bolden. That accompanied with Gabriel's sky high ceiling are the two X factors I see outside of the obvious in Briscoe and Lee returning.

Hump and Bam! Oh no. That sounds pretty bad.:flushed:

Personally believe Bam can hold his own easily against Bolden or any other Dukie center that may be on their roster right now! Bring em on!!

 

[TruBluCatFan]

I think you will find that you are underestimating Humphries. Bolden is a good prospect, not an impact prospect. Humphries has a lot of talent, more size than Bolden, and a year of college basketball experience.

I'm not underestimating him. I think he will be a fine player. Just not certain he's better than Bolden yet. Only time will tell. I certainly hope he is much better player.

 

[akaukswoosh]

I'd love to see both Hump and Wynyard surprise some folks next season.

 

[EvilMD]

Anyone who doesn't believe in Humphries is a bloody Sheila.

 

[SDcatfan13]

I'm not going to pretend that Bolden isn't a big miss, but I think Humphries definitely has potential. What I like about him is his rebounding ability and free throw shooting. It was impressive for him to get double digit rebounds on the road against a good Texas A&M team. I think if given more minutes, he would have been the most productive player at center for Kentucky at the end of last year.

 

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

What Humphries lacks in athleticism, which isn't bad, he makes up for in skills and size. His instincts and timing on blocks is very good. He has a nice, natural touch on his shots that can't be taught. And I'll take his humility all day long over another prima dona. Yes, Bolden strikes me as one of those.

 

[HICATFAN]

I don't know that I agree that Humphries will be better than Bolden but he will be much improved.

Let's not forget Humphries should only be graduating this year. Not unusual for kids to reclassify anymore but it is when they really do jump ahead a year. Most reclassifications end up putting kids back with their own age group.

Humphries turned 18 in January. Bolden last month. 3 month age difference.

Totally agree.....I have "a funny feeling" that both Hump and Tai will come out and impress everyone....just my feeling, but I think the "force" is strong with these two!!!

AlohaCat

 

[Jakarii]

If he is better than Bolden that will be a surprise and Cal thinks so as well or he wouldn't have been recruiting Bolden. Right now it's just wishful thinking to make some feel better about kissing out on Bolden. There will be "Hump will be better" and "Bolden wasn't going to do much anyway" post from the same people who say "if Cal says Weneyen is a SF then he's a SF". So why wouldn't Cal's opinion on Bolden over Hump be backed up just as loyally??




QUOTE="harlanhomeboy, post: 4597287, member: 1790"]A more conditioned, sophomore Humphries >>> freshman Bolden IMO

Of course I wanted Bolden, but Duke certainly needed him more than us. I believe if Humphries takes the summer seriously in terms of his body and training he will be better than having a frosh Bolden. That accompanied with Gabriel's sky high ceiling are the two X factors I see outside of the obvious in Briscoe and Lee returning.[/QUOTE]

 

[shiloh741]

He seemed very raw last season.He had some good moments and times where he seemed lost.I hope he is hitting the weight room hard during the offseason.He needs strength and some offensive moves.

 

[Jakarii]

Because he's not better than Bolden. Wasn't better than him even when they were in the same class before Hump reclassified. Bolden is more skilled, more athletic, longer and more potential. Doesn't mean Hump can't be a good player and have a impact but he isn't projected by anyone to be a starter this year, Bolden would have started next season next to Bam to become one of the best front courts in college basketball (two projected lotto picks)


QUOTE="TruBluCatFan, post: 4597878, member: 530"]I'm not underestimating him. I think he will be a fine player. Just not certain he's better than Bolden yet. Only time will tell. I certainly hope he is much better player.[/QUOTE]

 

[Brando Mac]

I don't think Humphries will be a starter next season and I'm not ready to proclaim him better than Bolden, but I've always liked his potential. He's got a good frame and good hands, just needs to get quicker and more comfortable on the court. He provides quality depth next season and I really feel like he's going to blossom into a really good player by the time he leaves UK.

 

[Bluesnky]

I'm not going to pretend that Bolden isn't a big miss, but I think Humphries definitely has potential. What I like about him is his rebounding ability and free throw shooting. It was impressive for him to get double digit rebounds on the road against a good Texas A&M team. I think if given more minutes, he would have been the most productive player at center for Kentucky at the end of last year.

It wasn't really possible to give him more minutes last season because he fouled too much.

 

[rbky53]

Hump will be a typical soph for a four year player. He will have some good and some bad games. But will continue to get better like Jorts. Will be one good player as a senior. May not stay too long. I read that a nba scout had him ranked third as a center.

 

[bookerfan66]

I don't think he is better than Bolden in any way but he has potential.He needs strength and to quit being so foul prone.I think his junior year will be when he really shines.

 

[_Rooster]

Catfucius say: "Hump & Wynard conditioning with this man for year pay huge dividend in March"

Big Bad Cats here:

7' 260 lbs Isaac
6' 10" 260 lbs Tai
6' 10" 260 Lbs Bam

 

[CatPhight_rivals65113]

Because he's not better than Bolden. Wasn't better than him even when they were in the same class before Hump reclassified. Bolden is more skilled, more athletic, longer and more potential. Doesn't mean Hump can't be a good player and have a impact but he isn't projected by anyone to be a starter this year, Bolden would have started next season next to Bam to become one of the best front courts in college basketball (two projected lotto picks)


QUOTE="TruBluCatFan, post: 4597878, member: 530"]I'm not underestimating him. I think he will be a fine player. Just not certain he's better than Bolden yet. Only time will tell. I certainly hope he is much better player.

Bolden will not be a 1st rounder next year, let alone a lottery pick - ratface will pocket him for 2018, count on it.

 

[cal=8]

Humphries is skilled.. I said last year had we played Hump more he would've had a big impact in March.. I'm very disappointed in not getting Bolden but it could be a blessing in disguise.

 

[_Johnny26_]

Forget about Tai. Don't see him ever amounting to anything in all honesty. I hope Humphries can take a big step forward and be much improved this coming season, but right now as far as the frontcourt is concerned we best be focusing on Killeya Jones or Gabriel. Bam's gonna give us a double-double almost every night. But I'm thinking SKJ starts at the 4 with Bam at the 5. If SKJ can start and give us like 8pts, 7rbs, and 2blks then we're set. He's got a killer midrange game almost Trey Lyles like. Here's the best case scenario....

Fox
Monk
Willis (We need his 3pt shooting in the starting lineup, and a guard off the bench)
SKJ
Bam

Briscoe
Gabriel
Lee
Humphries
Hawkins
Mulder
Wynyard

Briscoe, Gabriel, Lee, and Humphries are the main guys off the bench. Briscoe backs up the 1,2, and 3. Gabriel backs up the 3 and 4, but he'll play mostly the 3 as will Willis. Lee backs up the 4, and Humphries backs up the 5. Briscoe and Gabriel and Lee will play the most minutes off the bench too. Humphries will probably get like 10mpg.

 

[mrhotdice]

Don't be fooled by a bunch of dunks in HS. Hump will be fine.

 

[Jakarii]

I'm
Fooled by the full games I've watched with Bolden showing great foot work with his back to the basket in the post. He's a more skilled Thomas Bryant and doesn't need to dunk once to drop 20 on other bigs. Add in that 7'6 wingspan which is ridiculous and you can see why he was ranked as the top C.

As far as Hump, I think he will be a NBA caliber player by his Sr year, he will develop like most four year bigs who eventually have a chance to be a NBA first rounder



QUOTE="MrHotDice, post: 4598694, member: 1226"]Don't be fooled by a bunch of dunks in HS. Hump will be fine.[/QUOTE]

 

[JonathanW_rivals]

I've been saying since we started recruiting Bolden, that Humphries would be as good (or close) as Bolden next year.

 

[Jakarii]

That's wishful thinking and wouldn't be said if Hump was at Duke or UL instead of where and Bolden here. Even Cal doesn't believe that.


Now with that said and after thinking about it Hump has a chance to start at center IF he losses some weight, gets a little quicker and fouls less. Now when I say start that doesn't mean big starter minutes, I mean start in order to take pressure/fouls away from Bam and allow him to play his natural position and do what he does best which is face up. If Hump can start and provide 20 minutes and drop about 6pts 7/8 reb and 1.5 blocks then that would be GREAT for UK. It's up to Hump though.


QUOTE="JonathanW, post: 4599099, member: 1508"]I've been saying since we started recruiting Bolden, that Humpfries would be as good (or close) as Bolden next year.[/QUOTE]

 

[stuway]

Hump was more physical last year then Bolden is right now. And now with a year of growth, Hump is absolutely more of a physical presence. Im sure many will disagree. That's why I hope we play, to see exactly that. Our Frontline with Bam and Hump, couple Womens physicality in there and we are fine. Personally I think we would physically man handle Dook this upcoming season. Then if Lee comes back to boot, gravy.

 

[Jakarii]

Because he was bigger but he wasn't more skilled or better than Bolden is/was/will be. Bolden is a better Thomas Bryant and we all saw exactly what Thomas Bryant did to UK right? The only reason some are saying Hump is better or will be better is due to Bolden picking somewhere else. Would be the same if Bam picked N.C state. This has been the same story every single time a top player picked another school over UK. I'm sure someone can pull up before last season and show threads of how Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress were going to be better than "insert recruit who turned down UK". Hell even when Tai Was coming some were saying how he's going to be better than some of the bigs already at UK and then what happened..... He ended up being redshirted.


UK is still going to be a title contender without Bolden and wish he would have picked UK but I'm with Cal in feeling Bolden is better than Hump ( Cal recruited him to come in and start next to Bam

Hump was more physical last year then Bolden is right now. And now with a year of growth, Hump is absolutely more of a physical presence. Im sure many will disagree. That's why I hope we play, to see exactly that. Our Frontline with Bam and Hump, couple Womens physicality in there and we are fine. Personally I think we would physically man handle Dook this upcoming season. Then if Lee comes back to boot, gravy.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

Because he was bigger but he wasn't more skilled or better than Bolden is/was/will be. Bolden is a better Thomas Bryant and we all saw exactly what Thomas Bryant did to UK right? The only reason some are saying Hump is better or will be better is due to Bolden picking somewhere else. Would be the same if Bam picked N.C state. This has been the same story every single time a top player picked another school over UK. I'm sure someone can pull up before last season and show threads of how Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress were going to be better than "insert recruit who turned down UK". Hell even when Tai Was coming some were saying how he's going to be better than some of the bigs already at UK and then what happened..... He ended up being redshirted.


UK is still going to be a title contender without Bolden and wish he would have picked UK but I'm with Cal in feeling Bolden is better than Hump ( Cal recruited him to come in and start next to Bam

Thomas Bryant toe us up because we had the likes of Skal and Marcus Lee guarding him. Not because he is some sort of elite scoring machine.

 

[Jakarii]

Not saying he's elite but he did put up 12ppg for the year and would have been a first rounder if he came out. And as bad as Skal and Lee were they still played more than Hump so what does that tell you? That doesn't even include the fact that before Hump reclassified he was ranked a good 30 spots below Bolden and wasn't even close to being a McDonald's All-American.


No matter how bad someone wants it to be or how they try to slice it right now Hump is not better than Bolden. Most realistic UK fans know this, every scouting service knows this, every NBA scout knows this, the good thing is he doesn't need to be better than Bolden in order to help UK win


This is pretty much like the girl who picks a different guy and all of a sudden the guy says "well she wasn't all that anyway"

 

[EvilMD]

I wished Cal would have played Isaac 20 minutes a game last season, but I guess he stunk it up in practice or Cal was worried about recruiting if he gave up on Skal.

 

[David Rice]

He better play his *** off in the summer.

 

[Jkwo_rivals113955]

I don't know about being way better than Bolden, but I'd put it this way - I see no reason why the Sophomore version of the guy we saw flashes of last year can't contribute as much as a freshman big in the 10-20 range of a class (bigs tend to transition slower unless they're top 5 type guys).

 

[Jkwo_rivals113955]

Not saying he's elite but he did put up 12ppg for the year and would have been a first rounder if he came out. And as bad as Skal and Lee were they still played more than Hump so what does that tell you? That doesn't even include the fact that before Hump reclassified he was ranked a good 30 spots below Bolden and wasn't even close to being a McDonald's All-American.


No matter how bad someone wants it to be or how they try to slice it right now Hump is not better than Bolden. Most realistic UK fans know this, every scouting service knows this, every NBA scout knows this, the good thing is he doesn't need to be better than Bolden in order to help UK win


This is pretty much like the girl who picks a different guy and all of a sudden the guy says "well she wasn't all that anyway"

All fair points until you neglect to account for the extra year that Hump will have had in the system/in D1.

Freshman bigs vs sophomore bigs - gigantic difference on average.

Doesn't guarantee anything, just saying that it's a noteworthy factor.

 

[anon1763419335]

I wished Cal would have played Isaac 20 minutes a game last season, but I guess he stunk it up in practice or Cal was worried about recruiting if he gave up on Skal.

humphries averaged 1.9 ppg. he averaged 9 fouls per 40. he stunk it up in games too. people love humphries because he isnt poythress and/or skal so play him 20+ min a game...even though he stunk.