Kris Humphries Bizarre Recruiting Process
For the past few weeks, McDonald's All American Kris Humphries has been trying to make one more college decision. If you recall, Humphries first gave a verbal commitment to Duke and then signed a letter of intent last November. Then rumors started surfacing that Humphries was looking to get out of his letter of intent.
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There was a meeting with Coach K but Humphries still seeked his release. While Kris' dad was telling RivalsHoops.com his son was still committed to Duke, a release was being prepared by the Blue Devils' program to announce his release. There was chaos and confusion even that day it became official. No one seemed to know what happened and why it happened.
Humphries, 6-foot-8 and 225-pounds from Hopkins High School in Minnesota, then was lucky enough to have a staff like Duke to allow him out of his letter of intent. There was no coaching change at Duke so one couldn't sympathize with Humphries' situation. When Georgia fired its head coach, one could feel for someone like Mohamed Abukar, who thought he was going to play for Jim Harrick. But the Humphries' case is entirely different.
Humphries has since taken trips to Iowa State, Indiana, and Minnesota. Peegs.com reported yesterday that the Hoosiers might land a commitment out of Humphries later this week.
But another angle has developed too. It's not a positive one either. In today's Star-Tribune in Minnesota, Kris' dad sounded as frustrated as some college coaches are now in this process.
"From this point on, he has to live with what he says," said Kris' dad to the Star-Tribune. "I've always stepped forward, and with Kris' blessing have said what's going on. I told him, 'I'm not doing that anymore.' I'm referring everybody to him. He can answer all those questions."
Sometimes in a recruiting process, especially one hard-fought as this one has been, it can drive wedges between people who are even very close to each other. Along the recruiting circuit, it was said by many who knew Kris that Mr. Humphries was responsible for his son backing out of his verbal to Duke. He disputed that in the Star-Tribune.
"All this stuff about me making the call, that's such b.s.," he said to the Star-Tribune. "I've acted as his mouthpiece, and that effectively ended when he turned 18 [in February] and graduated from high school. I'll tell you guys, if you want a quote from Kris, get one from Kris. Because he'll tell you what he wants to."
Some school will land a very talented player in Humphries, who has exceptional perimeter skills for a big man. It might be Indiana, it could be Iowa State, maybe even Minnesota. But a shade of sadness has pillowed over this process. Maybe this could be looked at as a model for families in the future -- a model in how not to handle the recruiting process.
*Here is a link to the full story on Kris Humphries in the Star-Tribune: Kris Humphries
