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As first reported by FOX Sports, former UK big man Isaac Humphries has signed with his hometown team, the Sydney Kings.
The news isn’t so surprising to Cats fans, given his inability to get a chance in the NBA Summer League (he was cut by the Wizards the day before league play started), and the place his native Australia holds in his heart. The piano playing, soft spoken Aussie didn’t have a huge impact in his time in Lexington, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t show flashes of future talent.
Here are a few reasons to believe this isn’t the last we’ll see of Humphries.
The Texas A&M Game
Isaac hardly had an impact on an entire game his freshman year like this road contest against the Aggies. Humphries played a solid 20 minutes, chipped in 6 points, however his biggest impact was on the boards. Isaac pulled down 12 boards against a team that was difficult to rebound against.
After his last rebound, he was so excited he slammed the ball, lost control of it, and got a technical (which was bullspit). If not for the brief moment, Isaac would’ve been the hero of the game.
UNC Game 2017 NCAA Tournament
In what should have been the Championship Game, UK was having a difficult time down low against the Tar Heels. Humphries changed that by adding 12 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes of action. This was also the only loss UK took all season when Humphries had scored a point. Not only did he score, he showed range, and didn’t hesitate against UNC.
He’s only 19!!!
One part of Isaac’s game that Coach Cal continued to talk about was the fact he is only 19 years old. With 2 years of conditioning at UK, his everyday practices with future NBA players, Humphries has seen what it takes to succeed. Going home to play for the Sydney Kings allows him to grow further into his body and actually play. Going up against grown men during league play will allow him to further his game, versus sitting on the end of the bench in the NBA or the D-League.
One thing is for certain. Isaac has time, loads of it. We’ve only seen flashes here in the bluegrass. Something tells me he could follow in Dakari Johnson’s footsteps. With a couple more years of playing in the pros, hopefully Isaac gets his crack at a NBA roster.