He saved our butts against Duke and almost did the same at Texas A&M. He's a center. Centers need time on the floor to develop. See Dakari.
Humphries
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He saved our butts against Duke and almost did the same at Texas A&M. He's a center. Centers need time on the floor to develop. See Dakari.
yeah....those 2 points and 3 rebounds really took over the game. the legend of humphries grows...
I have no clue how much Humphries will improve, nor does anyone else. However to say he is better than Bolden is crazy. Period.
Nothing he has shown thus far would have any team draft him over Bolden. Does he have talent? I guess we will see over time, but he was very average last season.
A second year Humphries isn't much worse than a first year Bolden.
Hump needs court time to develop and can be valuable. I said this in another post, without Bolden Cal can go super athletic on the court.
People also sleep on the skill Bam and Sasha have, Kenny P will have both a couple nice post moves by the season.
Hump needs court time to develop and can be valuable. I said this in another post, without Bolden Cal can go super athletic on the court.
People also sleep on the skill Bam and Sasha have, Kenny P will have both a couple nice post moves by the season.
Humphries does have the offensive game Bolden has. Bolden is already an extremely skilled low post scorer with great touch and great footwork. Humphries is not. Still, Hump has a lot of potential, and has the frame to be a big (literally and figuratively) player for us in his time here. I think he could be a Mashall Plumlee type of center for us. Probably a little quicker than Plumlee.
Edit: That was supposed to say doe NOT have the offensive game Bolden has.
Edit: That was supposed to say doe NOT have the offensive game Bolden has.
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humphries is now quicker than plumlee? just about the only thing any of the plumlees had going for themselves is that they were athletic. humphries is anything but.
the legend of humphries grows...
Correct, but there are many different ways to score in basketball. It's all how Cal features his players. With our driving abilities and spot up shooting, Hump may look very good shooting mid-range and on put backs. Plus he will be low ego and not need the ball.
Don't get me wrong, we'd be better with Bolden, but chemistry and fit means a lot also.
Also we all know how accurate high school rankings are [laughing].
All I know is this:
1) NBA scouts liked Humphries a lot last Oct/Nov.
2) you can't teach his size
3) he seems willing to battle inside
4) without him that comfortable Duke win is likely a loss to Duke
5) without him that OT loss to TAMU (that the refs took from us due to his mental lapse) would not have even been close
His rebounding and block shot skills have already shown. Not only should he have the learning curve bump that you see typically from a FR to SOPH, but he has that added bump of having that extra year in the states now and learning how the game is played here and adjusting. Some have tried to argue that under Cal you don't see that FR to SOPH improvement as much, but that is a small sample size, AND many of Cal's FR have played a lot as FR and thus were closer to their ceiling earlier than FR at other schools. Hump just needs to work on his defensive positioning so that he doesn't get so many fouls. We kept hearing how good his shooting was, so I think that will come around with the confidence that comes with more PT.
As for Bolden, I saw him as like Johnson, a guy not known for his rebounding or defense or motor, but with some offensive moves, that is probably also a 3 year player. When is the last time K played more than 7-8 guys (excluding injuries)? You know Allen, Kennard, Jefferson, Giles, Jones, Jackson, & Tatum are playing. That is 7, leaving room for maybe 1 more, out of Bolden, DeLaurier & Jeter. Bolden is probably the favorite of those 3, but as the last guy in K's rotation, that isn't a lot of minutes (maybe 10-15mpg). Now I'm not saying he turned down 30mpg at UK to play 10mpg at Duke, I think at UK he would have been (if Briscoe returns) somewhere in the 5th-8th range as well at about 15-22 mpg.
Humphries has a nice shooting touch and good size, so if he is utilized correctly and gets in excellent physical condition, he can be a really good player!
One problem is with Humphries is that he hasn't shown that he is a good "back to the basket" player and that's what this team is missing.
In a tight half court game, you need a player who can post up and get you a basket.
We need somebody to fill that role for us and I believe that's why Cal prefered Bolden over Jarrett Allen even though Allen appears to have more upside.
One problem is with Humphries is that he hasn't shown that he is a good "back to the basket" player and that's what this team is missing.
In a tight half court game, you need a player who can post up and get you a basket.
We need somebody to fill that role for us and I believe that's why Cal prefered Bolden over Jarrett Allen even though Allen appears to have more upside.
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I've been saying for weeks Humphries may start (even if we got Bolden) and would play about 20mpg, and produce about 5-6 pts & 6-7 reb and 1.5 bpg. Given the minutes those aren't bad.
This is a great post. I tried to make this point in a low fewer words earlier.
I think Bolden is more athletic than Dakari but same type of fit. Bolden was going to be at best the fourth option at either school.
what do people mean when they say humphries has a nice touch? he had more airballs than made shots last year. he is good at point blank range however.
Marshall Plumlee is mildly athletic for a big man, but his offensive game is mainly from beating people down the court due to hustle- and face-up jumpers if he's not throwing in a put-back. He's really not skilled offensively in the low post. Laterally, he's molasses, which causes him to get worked by guys much smaller or stronger than him. He uses height and length, and ability to get off the floor quickly to compensate to a degree.
Humphries is not the leaper Marshall is (if you call him a leaper), but he plays with a similar motor and has better quickness around the basket and better foot speed. Right now, he lacks the basketball IQ Plumlee has, and needs to develop that. But his ceiling is probably a quicker version of plumlee- he is probably never going to be a highly skilled back-to-the-basket scorer, and will have to use his motor to beat other bigs- like Plumlee. He will need to develop better footwork to utilize anything other than his height, however.
Either way...my original post as supposed to say he does NOT have the offensive game Bolden has. Bolden is a more-skilled and better center right now than Humphries is likely to ever be. Bolden is much better than Plumlee right now, too, though I doubt that is in question.
Maybe, we just don't know yet. Very limited minutes last year but showed potential.
You know, the thing I liked most about him? His reactions after the big mistake against TA&M. Dude was in tears. Absolutely distraught, because he cared. His teammates clearly liked him because they spent the press conference and time after trying to console him. That says a lot to me. We've had some players in recent years who would have made that mistake, and not cared that much.
Oh god guys. Duke won this round. Don't go being idiots just because you can't handle losing a good one to Duke. We'll get them back in due time
Plumlee was a muscled up beast by the time he left Duke. Amile Jefferson as well has transformed his body from a Marcus Lee-type wiry physique to add a lot of muscle and strength, and it's made him an elite rebounder.
Hump was a 17 yr old kid with lot of baby fat and very little muscle definition last year. I expect to see a huge improvement in Hump's physique this year after a summer of intense workouts.
If not, our Strength & Conditioning program needs to be completely revamped. It's a heck of a lot more important than amping up the atmosphere at Rupp and all the other stuff Cal is pledging to do.
Hump was a 17 yr old kid with lot of baby fat and very little muscle definition last year. I expect to see a huge improvement in Hump's physique this year after a summer of intense workouts.
If not, our Strength & Conditioning program needs to be completely revamped. It's a heck of a lot more important than amping up the atmosphere at Rupp and all the other stuff Cal is pledging to do.
our strength and conditioning program seems to be voluntary...... Cal really needs to change it up
I'm not saying losing Bolden isn't a loss. I'm saying there is only one ball, and we have enough guys who can put the ball in the hole offensively. I am not expecting Luc Longley, I am merely expecting a very serviceable center who can set picks for the scorers and do the dirty work down low. He will improve a ton if he gets the playing time and he can be a huge part of us making the Final Four.
Are those two anywhere close to Bam size wise? Both were thin and weak. That stuff matters
Neither of them could handle bumps and gain proper post position to effectively score.
Bam will have no issue.
You guys are missing the boat on Humphries. Not only was he a freshman big man that almost always take time to develop in college, but he was thousands of miles from home and getting use to an entirely different country and culture. That's a LOT to digest for a 17 year old. I think we will see an entirely different player this year. He'll be in better condition, more comfortable in a U.S. college atmosphere, and will know what it takes to play big time college basketball. He has the size and skills. Hopefully he'll get to showcase it this year.
The fact we went after Bolden doesn't bode well for what the staff thinks Humphries is capable of this year. It makes no sense to go after Bolden if the staff thinks Humphries is ready to go. I imagine his role will be similar to last year. His mobility and foul issues makes it tough for him to play a lot.
When did Dakari ever develop? I thought he regressed from year one to year two (mainly confidence).
What about the fact that players get better and develop do you not get? Humphries might not ever be any better than he was last year. OR, he might be light years better at some point and some/much of it could show up this year. I don't think Cal recruited him from halfway around the world because he didn't think he could play. It was obvious he was thinking too much last year. You just might be amazed how much a year in the system can change that.
Bolden is a polished young big with obvious talent. People don't see Demarcus Cousins so therefore he's a 4 year player. Hate to break it to some of you, but all Duke needs him to be is Dakari Johnson and they are going to be incredibly hard to beat especially when you take the favoritism into account.
Humphries was an insurance pickup and I'm glad because he's going to be needed. I hope to God he's the type that improves in droves and not just slightly per year, or we're not going to get the production we need. He had a few games last year where he looked like he was doing great, but Skal and Lee were so bad, we took what we got.
No one knows how good Humphries will be, but assuming he's going to be Josh Harrellson by next season? Set yourselves up for failure if it feels right.
Humphries was an insurance pickup and I'm glad because he's going to be needed. I hope to God he's the type that improves in droves and not just slightly per year, or we're not going to get the production we need. He had a few games last year where he looked like he was doing great, but Skal and Lee were so bad, we took what we got.
No one knows how good Humphries will be, but assuming he's going to be Josh Harrellson by next season? Set yourselves up for failure if it feels right.
You people!!!!! Trust in Cal, Trust in Kenny. These guys will all be NBA allstars. Look where Dakari is after 2 years in the system, Look at Lee worst player in the combine, Poy went from top 10 pick his freshman year to nothing, Skal went from top 2 pick to benched. Trust in Cal he is swaggy and knows what he is doing.
That's a pretty cool list. Although Dakari is doing great and will be in the NBA. I assume all of the players that have done great since leaving just slipped your mind. Big list to miss though.
Now before you die from a hernia explosion
4 final fours, national title, incoming number 1 recruiting class, and a guarantee from Cal you will have to watch as more nets come down because he's not going anywhere for another decade.....
[laughing]
Btw, Indiana? Kansas? Duke fan from North Dakota?
We won't need Shaq inside this year to be an elite team. Humphries can fill the role we need if he develops at a reasonable pace. Bolden would have been more effective early on and in the long run but he's a Blue Devil. Humphries will give us more this year than DakarI ever did. Count on it. And with the other studs we have on this team, we will be just fine.