University of Minnesota Athletics
Humphries Earns Second Player of the Week Honor
12/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Humphries produced two more double-doubles last week, averaging 23 points (on 54 percent shooting) and 13.5 rebounds to collect his second Big Ten Player of the Week honor in the first three weeks of the season. The 6-9 forward exploded for a career-best 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting and added 13 boards, including seven on the offensive glass, as Minnesota was edged at Virginia in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. He followed that performance with 14 points and 14 caroms in a win over Western Illinois.
Humphries is on pace to become the first freshman to lead the Big Ten in both scoring and rebounding since at least 1959, as he tops the Conference with 23.6 points and 11.8 boards per outing. The last first-year standout to lead the League in scoring was Ohio State's Michael Redd in 1998 while no freshman has ended the year atop the rebounding charts since at least 1959, when records were first kept in that category. Humphries' four double-doubles in five games this season also leads the Conference.
He is the first freshman in Big Ten annals to nab the Player of the Week accolades in two of the first three weeks and only the eighth first-year player to collect two or more weekly honors in a season. Current Wolverine Daniel Horton, the 2003 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, set the single-season record for a freshman last season with three Player of the Week honors while Indiana's Bracey Wright was honored on two occasions. The other frosh to nab two weekly awards are the Hoosiers' Steve Alford (1983-84), Jay Edwards (1987-88) and Alan Henderson (1991-92), Michigan State's Scott Skiles (1982-83) and Ohio State's Jim Jackson (1989-90).
The last Gopher to receive Player of the Week honors two times in the same season was Joel Przybilla during the 1999-2000 season.
The Gophers play host to Long Beach State tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
