Is Isaac Humphries that bad??

[2Dope15]

Don't want to here match-ups or that he is only 17. He can't even get on the floor for 5 mins. I'm sure he can rebound better than Skal, Willis, or even Lee sometimes. He is big enough and strong enough to get a few boards a game. Does anyone know if he is that bad in practice or what? We have to have a center who can rebound to make some noise in March.

 

[3 fan]

Cal did say all th NBA GM's were watching him during the combine

 

[sambowieshin]

Is Humphries gonna play?? Is Willis gonna play?? Is Ritchie gonna play??

 

[loublue22]

Normally I'd roll my eyes at this thread, but I think it's valid given how many offensive rebounds they got

 

[Bungalow Bill]

Don't want to here match-ups or that he is only 17. He can't even get on the floor for 5 mins. I'm sure he can rebound better than Skal, Willis, or even Lee sometimes. He is big enough and strong enough to get a few boards a game. Does anyone know if he is that bad in practice or what? We have to have a center who can rebound to make some noise in March.

So you ask a question and then tell us what you don't want to hear as an answer. That's seems like an agenda. He will play later in the year when match ups dictate as far as Cal is concerned and he gets in better shape.

 

[catsfan3383]

Been wondering all year what's up with humpries. He's had to maybe do something to get deep in Cal's doghouse. What little he did play early I thought he looked more than adequate considering especially how bad Skal has been. He played several good minutes against duke but hardly anything since. I know he had a minor foot injury, maybe that's still bothering him.

 

[docholiday51]

Is Humphries gonna play?? Is Willis gonna play?? Is Ritchie gonna play??

You left out Wynyard

 

[mkasten25]

75-73. Not much room for what ifs

 

[UPSCat4080]

Maybe he is going to redshirt? 30% would be appearing in 9 games and so far he has only been in 6. Probably not, but food for thought.

 

[Aike]

Cal is trying to tighten the rotation.

He said today that he would like to have Willis sub in for Poythress as a stretch 4. Hawkins spell the guards. Matthews spell the wing. Skal or one of the other guys sub for Lee.

Cal doesn't want to play 10-11 guys and Skal is still the better bet right now, in Cal's mind. Doesn't mean Humphries did something wrong.

 

[marshalfan]

Maybe he is going to redshirt? 30% would be appearing in 9 games and so far he has only been in 6. Probably not, but food for thought.[/QUOTE
Wrong, He would have to be injured to get a redshirt once he has played

 

[marshalfan]

Wrong, He would have to be injured to be eligible for a redshirt since he has already played

 

[4UK]

I totally get what the OP is saying, but as frustrating as it is, we have to trust Cal.

Skal is just not very good, and frankly, I see no signs that he will be anytime soon. The easy argument - and one that I actually see a lot of merit in -- is that the program will befit more in the short and long-term by getting Humphries minutes now. We know he's going to be here next year no matter what.

But knowing how Cal thinks, he doesn't see it that way. In his mind, if he can get Skal turned around - and Cal always believes in himself and his staff - it not only will help the kid, but also help recruiting down the road. If he pulls the plug on Skal, it will be used in negative recruiting down the road. Cal is always two steps ahead of most everyone, so even though I cringe every time Skal is in, we have to believe in Cal on this one.

 

[bucsrule8872]

He is a defensive liability. He would get us slaughtered in pick and roll situations. UofL would have exploited that when he was in the game.

This was not the game to get him minutes.

 

[2Dope15]

I totally trust Cal, but with how bad we are down low, I just don't understand it. He recruited him for a reason, like poster said above he played good against Duke and was a big reason why Plumlee was as big as a factor in second half. I know Cal likes to tighten rotation but we need help in rebounding. I know we won but got out rebounded by 10, without one of their best rebounders. That's going to hurt us sooner or later.

 

[2Dope15]

He is a defensive liability. He would get us slaughtered in pick and roll situations. UofL would have exploited that when he was in the game.

This was not the game to get him minutes.

When have you seen him get slaughtered in pick and roll, he hasn't played much?

 

[BostonCat2001]

dont think he is a good fit for this team actually. i think we are at our best when we go small, play fast, play out of control, and get up shots. if we go inside its because of mismatches we can exploit.

the best version of this team is not going to be one that is great defensively or on the boards. its one that scores it a ton and plays fast. gets turnovers/deflections.

 

[Aike]

I totally trust Cal, but with how bad we are down low, I just don't understand it. He recruited him for a reason, like poster said above he played good against Duke and was a big reason why Plumlee was as big as a factor in second half. I know Cal likes to tighten rotation but we need help in rebounding. I know we won but got out rebounded by 10, without one of their best rebounders. That's going to hurt us sooner or later.

What's the part you don't understand?

If you know Cal wants to tighten the rotation, then you have to know that at least a couple of guys will be left without minutes.

He recruited everybody on the roster for a reason. That reason wasn't to play them all every night.

 

[Aike]

dont think he is a good fit for this team actually. i think we are at our best when we go small, play fast, play out of control, and get up shots. if we go inside its because of mismatches we can exploit.

the best version of this team is not going to be one that is great defensively or on the boards. its one that scores it a ton and plays fast. gets turnovers/deflections.

I agree, and I think Cal is coming to grips with it too. He doesn't love it, because it creates more variance (risk), but it's the hand we are dealt.

If Cal fully embraces who we are, the season can be a lot of fun. We will just be more at risk of an early exit than a typical Cal team. But with our personnel and where they are right now, I don't see much choice.

 

[BostonCat2001]

I agree, and I think Cal is coming to grips with it too. He doesn't love it, because it creates more variance (risk), but it's the hand we are dealt.

If Cal fully embraces who we are, the season can be a lot of fun. We will just be more at risk of an early exit than a typical Cal team. But with our personnel and where they are right now, I don't see much choice.

that is where i am at. now i'm not advocating we dont rebound or dont play defense. but having skal in the post, mathews on the wing, playing a half court game....this team is not that. its not going to be that.

murray was crazy today...but i dont mind it. we need to play up and down, crazy. sometimes it will be good, sometimes it will be bad. i think that style plays into the strengths of more of our players like murray, ulis, mulder, willis, poythress, and lee.

having those guys play a half court set, feeding the post....just not going to work. and throwing humphries out there...you cant play that way.

 

[caneintally]

OP you might not want to hear the truth but he is young and slow right now but will be a whale of a player by year 2 maybe but def by year 3. NBA scouts love his potential . Tai will play alot soon but not Humphries .

 

[JonathanW]

To Cal, defense is top priority. Right now Humphries is too slow to guard some 5's. UL was a team where it simply wasn't a good matchup for him.

 

[Bigbluetrue]

To Cal, defense is top priority. Right now Humphries is too slow to guard some 5's. UL was a team where it simply wasn't a good matchup for him.

I have seen several people who said the same thing about UL being a bad match up for Humphries. I strongly disagree. They have plenty of big guys but not one would I consider a decent center. Louisville's bigs are non-athletic space eaters. I think Humphries would have held up much better against them than Skal. I definitely would like to see Humphries get more playing time.

 

[the stat man]

I just thing he is still adjusting to the speed od this type of a game. He will be a great asset when he can grab rebounds and fire outlet passes to get the break started.

 

[K_TIME]

It's really simple.
1. UK needs Lee and Poythress to play 25-30 minutes a piece as they are the best bets to be at least solid to really good most nights.
2. Then you have Willis going to scratch out some minutes as Cal's stretch 4.
3. FInally, you have Skal vs. Humphries...and maybe Wynard now. Cal is going to give the nod to Skal with his reputation...like it or not for the remaining 15-20 minutes. Skal is giving us basically zero on scoring and boards. So basically we'll wait each week for Skal to bring something...but I don't see him turning a major corner this year....kid is softer than Wiltjer

 

[ghorn19]

"The word on the street" is that Humphries hasn't really adjusted to the work ethic requirement of the program.

I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy......... But he's either leaving, or he's going to have to have a come to Jesus moment in practice.

 

[bucsrule8872]

that is where i am at. now i'm not advocating we dont rebound or dont play defense. but having skal in the post, mathews on the wing, playing a half court game....this team is not that. its not going to be that.

murray was crazy today...but i dont mind it. we need to play up and down, crazy. sometimes it will be good, sometimes it will be bad. i think that style plays into the strengths of more of our players like murray, ulis, mulder, willis, poythress, and lee.

having those guys play a half court set, feeding the post....just not going to work. and throwing humphries out there...you cant play that way.

I tend to agree with this.

Posting up is not our game this season. No Cousins, no Randle, no Towns. Cal is slowly seeing that.

We need to spread the floor and let our guards have room to operate. Let Skal, Poythress, and Lee play off the blocks, just rebound and play defense. That is how we are going to be the most competitive, IMHO.

If we knock down the perimeter shots like we did today, we will be incredibly hard to handle. We have three guys that should be able to shoot it in the regular 8-man rotation (Ulis, Murray, Willis).

I think this is the direction we are going to go. At least that is what I would do, but Cal is much smarter than I am. He will figure out the best way for this team to play. I feel pretty confident in that.

 

[Dollfann1]

He is a defensive liability. He would get us slaughtered in pick and roll situations. UofL would have exploited that when he was in the game.

This was not the game to get him minutes.

He could not be any worse at this time than Skal is.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Don't want to here match-ups or that he is only 17. He can't even get on the floor for 5 mins. I'm sure he can rebound better than Skal, Willis, or even Lee sometimes. He is big enough and strong enough to get a few boards a game. Does anyone know if he is that bad in practice or what? We have to have a center who can rebound to make some noise in March.

No, in fact he's the best player on the team. Cal just likes to sit him because he wants to make it harder on himself.

 

[EvilMD]

What's weird is that with him and Wynyard, their shots roll around the rim counterclockwise, unlike the clockwise rolls that our players get.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

I totally trust Cal, but with how bad we are down low, I just don't understand it. He recruited him for a reason, like poster said above he played good against Duke and was a big reason why Plumlee was as big as a factor in second half. I know Cal likes to tighten rotation but we need help in rebounding. I know we won but got out rebounded by 10, without one of their best rebounders. That's going to hurt us sooner or later.

Are you not aware that the vast majority of freshmen are brought along slowly? Cal does not bring in the same level of players every year. Sometimes he brings in players that are not going to play right away. Until the OAD thing happened, it's how it was done pretty much everywhere. Some very good players throughout college basketball's history have not played much their freshman season. But now we have to put up with fans constantly questioning why every single player Cal gets is not a AA candidate and playing right away.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

that is where i am at. now i'm not advocating we dont rebound or dont play defense. but having skal in the post, mathews on the wing, playing a half court game....this team is not that. its not going to be that.

murray was crazy today...but i dont mind it. we need to play up and down, crazy. sometimes it will be good, sometimes it will be bad. i think that style plays into the strengths of more of our players like murray, ulis, mulder, willis, poythress, and lee.

having those guys play a half court set, feeding the post....just not going to work. and throwing humphries out there...you cant play that way.

Pretty much agree. Although for that to truly work, Murray is going to have to tighten up his play. He turns it over way too much. Knight did too early in his season and got better. I think Jamal can too.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

I tend to agree with this.

Posting up is not our game this season. No Cousins, no Randle, no Towns. Cal is slowly seeing that.

We need to spread the floor and let our guards have room to operate. Let Skal, Poythress, and Lee play off the blocks, just rebound and play defense. That is how we are going to be the most competitive, IMHO.

If we knock down the perimeter shots like we did today, we will be incredibly hard to handle. We have three guys that should be able to shoot it in the regular 8-man rotation (Ulis, Murray, Willis).

I think this is the direction we are going to go. At least that is what I would do, but Cal is much smarter than I am. He will figure out the best way for this team to play. I feel pretty confident in that.

I think Poythress can post guys up, but only if the floor and spread and he is going against his man only. When people double him or come over to swipe at the ball, he gets in trouble.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Pretty much agree. Although for that to truly work, Murray is going to have to tighten up his play. He turns it over way too much. Knight did too early in his season and got better. I think Jamal can too.

Murray is going to be fine. He is just inconsistent right now. That's being a Freshman. He is going to be great by the end of the season. That's how I see it, based on Cal's track record with elite players.