Humphrey's arrival may end Irish's long NCAA drought

Sporting News, The, Nov 20, 2000 by Mike DeCourcy

In here, sprinting through practice in a crackling two hours on the floor of the Joyce Center, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have discovered the school's one basketball-related venue they can visit without being hit in the face with a bracket.

Coach Mike Brey otherwise turned his new domain into Bracketville. The bracket is everywhere: in the locker room, in the weight room, wherever Scotch tape will stick to the walls. Brey is the school's third coach in the past 20 months, and the only genuine resemblances he bears to predecessors John McLeod and Matt Doherty are that various members of the Irish roster describe him as "a players' coach" and that he is burdened with ending the Irish's numbing, decadelong absence from the NCAA Tournament.

So nothing, really, has changed.

"The goal with Matt was to get back to the NCAA Tournament," Brey says. "The goal during the week after Matt left was to get back to the NCAAs. It's the same goal now."

In the 10 seasons since Notre Dame last appeared in the NCAAs, UNC Greensboro has been there once, Northern Arizona twice and Old Dominion three times. Every program in the ACC, SEC and Conference USA has made it. North Carolina, Arizona, Indiana, UCLA, Kansas and Temple haven't missed.

How such a circumstance could have developed at Notre Dame, once home to Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley and Kelly Tripucka, is a long, involved tale that no longer was germane once Brey was hired in July. There is no doubting he knows how to get there. He coached Delaware to NCAA berths in 1998 and 1999. When he was an assistant for eight years at Duke, the Blue Devils reached the Final Four six times.

The NCAA Tournament is the dearest answer All-American Troy Murphy provides when asked what he wants to gain from another year with the Irish. He was part of a team that won 18 games last season before Selection Sunday, yet let a bid get away by slumbering through Big East games against Providence, Pittsburgh and Villanova.

"I want to say I played in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame hadn't been in the tournament in 10 years, and I helped bring it back," he says of the team's near bid. "That is of extreme importance."

The curious thing about this crusade is that the player who may be the key did not come to Notre Dame for that purpose. Ryan Humphrey left an Oklahoma program for which the NCAA Tournament was a habit. He left after averaging double-figure scoring in the Sooners' 1999 march to the Sweet 16.

So why did he leave? At 6-8, because of his toughness, athletic ability and understanding of post play, Humphrey played center. But when he and his family watched NBA games on TV, they didn't see many 6-8 centers.

"That was one of the hardest decisions of my life," Humphrey says. "Kelvin Sampson is a caring man, a nice man. It was just circumstances on the court."

Doherty promised Humphrey he could develop perimeter skills and play on the wing at Notre Dame. Humphrey sat out 1999-2000 in accordance with NCAA transfer roles, and then North Carolina presented Doherty with the irresistible opportunity to become its head coach. Doherty left.

The promise made to Humphrey was not one Brey was bound to honor. But he watched practice tapes from last season and noticed each time the team split in half for skill drills--big men at one end, perimeter players at the other--Humphrey went with the little guys to polish his ballhandling and jump shooting. Brey made a simple request of Humphrey: "Meet me halfway."

Humphrey will be asked to regularly post up on offense and defend the block on defense but will enjoy the sort of freedom in Brey's offense that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski affords Shane Battier now.

"A lot of people thought I just wanted to be on the perimeter strictly," Humphrey says, "but that would be playing against one of the strengths of Ryan Humphrey."

In two seasons at Oklahoma, Humphrey attempted one 3-point shot. Now, in practice drills Humphrey comfortably drains long-range shots once he finds his rhythm. He must become consistent with his release and cure a tendency to rush through his motion when he finds himself open.

Notre Dame doesn't need another shooter, which is why Humphrey will get the opportunity. Wings David Graves and Matt Carroll combined with Murphy and newly restored point guard starter Martin Ingelsby for 216 3s last season. Humphrey could make Notre Dame one of the few teams with deep threats at all five positions.

"It's going to be kind of funny because I believe teams are going to leave me open," Humphrey says. "It's going to feel good to shoot it. And once they start going in, I'll kind of have the mentality that I told you so.'"

Humphrey's greatest value will be energy on defense and the boards. The gifts that made him a center at Oklahoma make him a rarity at Notre Dame. It also makes Murphy more lethal, because he can fire with confidence over double-teams knowing Humphrey is on the weak side to clean up the shots that miss.

It happened once in practice a couple of weeks back. The Irish were enduring a listless scrimmage when Murphy nicked one off the rim, and Humphrey soared toward the goal and tried to slam home the miss. He shattered the backboard. The glass cut his shoulders and leg.