One trend that we are starting to see with the number of transfer waivers that are being granted is that it is no longer a rarity when a player logs minutes with three different programs in their career.
The latest in that long line is Matt Humphrey.
The 6-foot-5 wing began his career at Oregon, where he averaged 5.4 points as a sophomore before transferring out of the program when Dana Altman took over. After sitting out the 2010-2011 season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules, Humphrey became Boston College’s second-leading scorer last season, averaging 10.3 ppg.
On Tuesday, it was officially announced that Humphrey would be leaving BC after a single season and enrolling at another Big East refugee in West Virginia.
“Matt will give us much needed experience on the front line,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said in a statement. “In having played in the Pac-12 and ACC, his familiarity with multiple offensive and defensive schemes will help us at both ends of the floor. His size and length will definitely make us a better defensive team on the perimeter and should help us create matchup problems for opposing defenses. He will give us another 3-point threat, which will enable us to stretch defenses and open up the posts for our inside guys.”
Humphrey should be a welcome addition to the Mountaineers. With both Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant graduating, Huggy Bear was looking at having a roster that included Deniz Kilicli, Dominique Rutledge, and a slew of freshmen and sophomores. And as productive as Kilicli can be, he’s also proven to drive Huggins as crazy as any player on his team.
In other words, adding a big wing that has been around for a few years is a good thing.
The question that needs to be asked, however, is just how good Humphrey is and just how valuable his experience is. Humphrey’s best season as a collegian came in 2009-2010, when he was a member of the Oregon team that went 16-16 overall and finished tied for eighth in the Pac-10. As a freshman, he was a member of an 8-23 Oregon team. As a junior, he played on a 9-22 BC team. He’s not exactly been a part of winning traditions.
Humphrey also is a bit of a gunner. As BC Interruption explains:And while that’s true, his 10.3 points per game were second only to Ryan Anderson’s 11.2 points per game, he wasn’t exactly efficient. Humphrey shot just 35% from the field and 31.3% from behind the arc. He also led the team in shot attempts.
It’s pretty clear that this BC basketball team is in it’s infant stages of a rebuilding process and for all the talent that Humphrey possesses, he simply wasn’t right for this team. A bunch of freshman and sophomores don’t need a veteran guard simply chucking shots and making questionable basketball decisions. Naturally, we wish Matt the best with the rest of his basketball career but I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about this transfer. This isn’t players leaving the program because of Coach Donahue’s ability or the direction of the organization. This was simply a player that didn’t fit with the needs of our team and would be better suited in a different environment.
West Virginia needs bodies. Humphrey provides that. But he’s not going to be WVU’s savior.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.
