Big Ten standout auditions

By Linda Hamilton
Deseret Morning News
Published: Friday, June 18, 2004 12:02 a.m. MDT
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Kris Humphries, a 6-foot-9 forward at the University of Minnesota, was named to the all-Big Ten first team and earned the league's freshman of the year honors, then found it "an easy decision" to put his name in as an early entry for next week's NBA Draft.

"I thought about it because you get comfortable somewhere, get to know the great people involved," Humphries said about his year with the Golden Gophers, his hometown team.

"It's a hard decision to leave, but after examining all my plusses and minuses and talking to my coach and my family, it was an easy decision to put my name in the draft," said the 19-year-old, who based his decision on, "Just looking at, am I ready? I've had a lot great feedback from my coaches, people I've been around, so it was an easy decision."

Humphries has generally been rated as a middle first-round choice, but Utah player personnel director Walt Perrin said that stock is rising as Humphries auditions for NBA teams.

Humphries worked out with three other big forward types for the Jazz at the Zion's Bank Basketball Center on Thursday morning.

Also working out were 6-9 DePaul senior Andre Brown, 6-10 Damir Omerhodzic of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; and 6-11 Brazilian Tiago Splitter, who played in Spain last winter and who has a large buyout due should he play in the NBA next fall.

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Splitter said Thursday he expected to keep his name in the draft, despite the costly buyout that might drop his draft position or keep him playing in Europe next season if he is taken by an NBA team. "Next year, I don't have buyout," he said. He worked out for all NBA teams in Chicago last week, where the Jazz interviewed him and liked him enough to bring him to Salt Lake City this week. He has also visited Seattle.

Many draft experts thought Splitter would pull out of the draft by Thursday afternoon's deadline. The Jazz were unsure late Thursday what he decided, and several phone calls to his hotel room went unanswered.

Omerhodzic is considered a late first-round "bubble" possibility, and Brown looks like a second-rounder. Utah does not have a second-round pick but has three in the mid-first round at Nos. 14, 16 and 21.

Perrin said Humphries' reputation is improving because he started working out later than many players, spending two weeks learning in Houston from ex-NBA player John Lucas.

"He's got a body that's ready to play in the NBA right now," Perrin said. "He's got very good skills."

The year of experience in the rugged Big Ten, where Humphries averaged 21.7 points and 10.3 rebounds, makes Humphries "a little closer to the NBA game than a high school player," Perrin said. "He's improved tremendously because he's had a year experience playing against a lot better players in college, getting some college coaching. He has improved his body a lot. It helps him."

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