Do we beat Auburn if Humphries plays?

[canebreak]

Not second guessing Cal. But if Humphries or even Ty played, do we beat Auburn? Without looking at stats it does not seem like interior defense was the problem against AU. I just think it was lack of post play on offense. So I wonder if Humphries could have gotten some 10 footers or put backs. Seems like he could pick and pop. Open some driving lanes. Makin us less reliant on 3's.

 

[JStaff2187]

When a team is hitting 3's like Auburn was that night, you are very vulnerable to taking a L. With that said, post play is and has been what has killed us in all of our losses. At this point I think you almost have to give those guys a chance just to see what they can do. If they can provide energy alone that would be step up from where we are now.

 

[chevyman 50]

Humphries must be in Cal s dog house, he looked good in early games..

 

[LineSkiCat14]

No, not with Hump getting like 4 minutes over the past month.

He would have probably helped Auburn build a bigger lead. He would not have been ready.

HOWEVER, If Hump was getting some better minutes leading up to this, then yes, he very well could have been a help, especially with Poythress going out for 5-10 min.

 

[Smashcat]

Humphries must be in Cal s dog house, he looked good in early games..

Good enough for Jay Williams to call him a first rounder in 2017, and he's sitting on the bench.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

At the very least, he was a big body to help rebound all those missed bunnies we had. He would have absorbed fouls.

 

[UKCatsFan10]

Cal watches these guys play multiple hours a day. In the 7 minutes Humphries played against LSU he was by far the worst player on the court. As for Tai, nobody has seen him play except for Cal so I trust his judgment on that one. I don't think either of those guys were the answer vs Auburn... AT ALL.

 

[canebreak]

I guess I am second guessing Cal a little now, seems like we went with guys in the Wisconsin game last year out of loyalty and we are still doing it. It might help the other bigs if Humphries goes in and makes a splash. It may motivate them. Maybe not Alex, being he is a senior. But certainly it might motivate Skal. We need a post player with offensive skill right now.

 

[CELTICAT]

One or two air balled baseline fifteen footers would have definitely swung the game in our favor.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Cal watches these guys play multiple hours a day. In the 7 minutes Humphries played against LSU he was by far the worst player on the court. As for Tai, nobody has seen him play except for Cal so I trust his judgment on that one. I don't think either of those guys were the answer vs Auburn... AT ALL.

I think it's a bit of this, and a bit of Cal placating to the higher recruits he worked to get here.

The line of thinking above was what people said about Willis at the beginning of the year. "He's terrible, why would you question Cal. If Cal isn't playing him then he knows he's not good"

Well, now look. Because of just how bad our front court is, Willis was forced into moderate reserve minutes. He struggled, but progressed little by little the last 10 games. Now he's a legitimate bench player who might possibly see starter-esque minutes.

He would have never gotten the chance, had it not been Cal's hand being forced. All he needed was some burn. His leash is a bit longer, his confidence is stronger, he's even gotten better on defense. He's actually a player we can kind of rely on. All that came from a month of play.

Why do we assume this can't happen with Hump? More precisely, why not do exactly what we did with Willis, and play Hump 2 or 3 more minutes each game, and see what we got in a month from now?