Kentucky announces Isaac Humphries signing; quotes from John Calipari

The Kentucky Wildcats have announced the addition of center Isaac Humphries to their 2015 recruiting class.

The 7-foot big man from Australia joins UK for next year's team after previously being part of the 2016 class. Head coach john Calipari was very happy to add a prospect of Humphries' size and skill to his squad.

"I watched Isaac when he first came over to the United States in high school in Indiana and was impressed with his skill and size," Calipari said. "He reminded me of a much bigger Josh Harrellson. He’s very skilled, has great hands and is a great passer. To have a 7-footer who just turned 17, he has a lot still in front of him, and the best part is he wants the challenge of playing at Kentucky."

Humphries becomes just the latest player of foreign descent to commit to playing for Calipari and the Wildcats.

"You’re recruiting guys who don’t want to run from this," Calipari said of the recent trend. "This is what they want. Whether they’re from Lexington, Ky., or Toronto, Canada, or from Australia, who wants this? Because guys who play here, they’ll tell – you’ve got to want this. It’s not something you can run from. You’ve got to run at it. And those are the guys that come here and have success."

As a member of the Australian U17 National Team that won the silver medal at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship, Humphries led the team in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (11.6 rebounds per game), blocked shots (3.3 blocks per game) and field-goal percentage (.576). He even had a 41-point, 19-rebound game in a win over fellow Kentucky signee Jamal Murray’s Canadian U17 National Team. In the championship game vs. the United States, Humphries had eight points and seven rebounds.

This is a big addition, figuratively and literally, for UK's 2015-16 team now that they have talent and depth in the frontcourt to go with a big body that should be able to hold his own against most college centers.