Well, I didn’t expect to hear this today. Apparently Kris Humphries – recently named on #NBARank as the 145th best player in the NBA – was a total jerkface in high school.
The Incredible Hump has always seemed like a decent guy to me, except for the fact that he regularly steals Brook Lopez’s rebounds. And probably his lunch money. But he definitely rubbed some guys at KU the wrong way; here’s the direct quote from former KU player Keith Langford on Humphries’ jerkiness:
(N)o one on the team liked Kris Humphries. He was arrogant. He told everyone he was going to come in and be the leading scorer as a freshman and that we’d all have to take a backseat to him. We were trying to be respectful and not say anything. But he was an absolute jerk. It was tough, because (coach) Roy (Williams) was really excited about him. Kris Humphries was a big deal. He was a one-and-done or two-and-done kind of player. Roy wanted him to commit on his visit. But we told him, ‘Coach, you can’t bring this guy in. You can’t do it.’ You’d figure Roy would say something like, ‘Let’s work on him,’ or ‘Let’s give him another chance.’ Instead he told Humphries, ‘Sorry, but you can’t come.'”
Firstly, if this is true: it’s nice to hear that Roy Williams to listen to his players first. No matter who the guy is, if he really clashes with an entire team, it’s good that a coach understands his program and is willing to listen to the players.
With that said, I don’t know if Kris Humphries is a nice guy or not, but even if this is true: is anyone really surprised? Aren’t all of these guys wackily overconfident to some degree, especially when they’re on the up-and-up? Isn’t that why they’re NBA players – because they believe in their ability beyond all else? Do you think Kris Humphries is Kim Kardashian’s husband because of his passive nature?
You don’t call a guy “The Incredible Hump” unless you think he’ll… well, I’ll leave that alone. Just watch the video.
In unrelated news, today is day 81 of the NBA lockout.