The Kentucky Wildcats may not have looked like the dominant team that they were last season following all of the departures and the incoming recruiting class, but they are about to add another huge piece to their puzzle.
According to a report from Garry Parrish of CBS Sports, the Wildcats are expected to add four-star Australian big man Isaac Humphries for the 2015-16 season — which gives John Calipari’s squad a huge addition.
Humphries decided to reclassify from the 2016 recruiting class to the 2015 class, thus making himself eligible to play this coming season. Kentucky still may not be able to go undefeated like they did last year, but this will make them a very competitive team come tournament time.
Humphries does have offers from quite a few other big schools, including teams like Kansas, Arizona, Illinois, New Mexico and Oregon. Kentucky obviously has the biggest draw of any of them, although Kansas and Arizona are teams to keep an eye on.
At 7-foot-0 and 245 pounds, Humphries known for his post positioning and moves. He is a dominant inside force and at that size there are very few players around the nation that will be able to match up with him. Humphries would without question be the type of big man that the Wildcats could use effectively offensively, but work would be needed on the defensive end of the court.
In the seven games that Humphries played in last summer at the FIBA U-17 World Championships, he ended up averaging 18.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. He was a rim protector due to his sheer height, although he isn’t quite as athletic as the centers that Kentucky has had over the past few years.
All of that being said, this is huge news for the Wildcats and would make them a much more legitimate contender this coming season. Humphries is capable of being a go-to guy for Kentucky, and it will be interesting to see what type of production he can give them.
Expect to see him formally reclassify soon and be set to play this year and be the difference maker in the middle that the Wildcats were in desperate need of finding.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
