Ryan Humphrey jogged through the scrimmage in November 2000 as he had jogged through so many others since transferring to Notre Dame over a year earlier, attempting to revive his basketball career.

The Tulsa, Okla., kid was still sizing up life in the North and sure hadn’t warmed up to brisk South Bend, Ind., days like this. As Humphrey — a thick 6-foot-8 bruiser with dreams of patrolling the perimeter — maneuvered his way through teammates, Troy Murphy, then Notre Dame’s star center, launched a shot that glanced off the rim. Humphrey soared toward the rebound, trying to dunk it home.

Before Humphrey could dodge the shards, glass rained down on him. His brute force had shattered the backboard. So much for being a perimeter player.

‘I didn’t try to do it intentionally,’ Humphrey said, almost ashamed, like a child who just broke dad’s favorite golf club. ‘It just kind of happened.’

And, really, that’s how Humphrey stumbled into the role of post player. It just kind of happened. Now in his senior season, his second at Notre Dame, Humphrey leads the Irish with 18.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He’s averaging a double-double in Big East play heading into Sunday’s game against Syracuse.

But as always, the wannabe gunslinger keeps his options open.

‘When I get it in the post, I try to mix it up,’ Humphrey said. ‘I try to face up, I try to back them down. When I have a jump shot, I’ll take it.’

Though Humphrey is listed as a forward, he bears the brunt of the Irish’s paint plans. With Notre Dame’s official center, Tom Timmermans, averaging about 10 minutes, Humphrey expects to ‘get beat up night in and night out.’

Earlier this season, he battled through a stress fracture in his lower left leg and within the last two weeks, shook a nagging right ankle sprain.

This is all quite ironic, considering Humphrey transferred to Notre Dame from Oklahoma after his sophomore season in order to develop more of a shooting game. He was limited as a scoring threat because the Sooners already had such a player in Eduardo Najera, now with the Dallas Mavericks. When Humphrey arrived at Notre Dame, he shadowed Murphy, now with the Golden State Warriors, before assuming the role of quasi-center.

‘I felt like I had to do what was best for Ryan Humphrey and I needed a change of environment,’ Humphrey said. ‘So if I got that, I could rededicate my life. I feel like I’m happy with my decision and I try not to look back.’

Notre Dame took some time to grow on Humphrey. Oklahoma’s open prairies and blue skies were comforting. Notre Dame’s golden dome and Touchdown Jesus — a 12-hour drive from home — weren’t. Humphrey was the Sooners’ signature in-state player. Oklahoma assistant Ray Lopes had pursued Humphrey since his sophomore year at Booker T. Washington High.

‘This is our pied piper,’ Lopes told OU head coach Kelvin Sampson after watching Humphrey play that season.

‘We needed to get a kid like him to get our program off and running and to get some respect within the state,’ Lopes said this week.

Lopes closely followed Humphrey during the summer after Humphrey’s junior year. Every game and practice, Lopes was there. The hotels where Humphrey’s AAU team stayed, Lopes was there too. Lopes would wait outside the hotel doors after Humphrey finished slamming down breakfast.

‘During that whole process, Ryan and I developed a really good relationship,’ Lopes said. ‘When it was all said and done, Ryan had a really good trust factor.’

In fact, Lopes sold Oklahoma to the whole Humphrey clan, including its paterfamilias, Al, a no-nonsense former NFL player. Humphrey’s twin sister, Robyn, even ended up following him to Oklahoma.

So Lopes was understandably devastated when Humphrey decided to move on to Notre Dame (Robyn followed soon thereafter), even after the Sooner coaches offered him a chance to redshirt.

‘He was unhappy, that’s for sure,’ Lopes said. ‘What it was about, I really don’t want to think about it, because obviously that was a tough one for us to lose. I always told Ryan, ‘Do whatever’s best for you. That’s the way I feel about you.’ ‘

Some people around Tulsa made it pretty obvious to Humphrey how they felt about his exodus. This was their hometown hero, the stockiest spoke in Booker T. Washington’s three-state-championship wheel of tradition that included former Orangeman Etan Thomas and current Chicago Bear R.W. McQuarters. Humphrey was destined to stay in the Sooner State (he was even supposed to play football at Oklahoma). And now he was gone.

‘Traitor,’ folks would mutter as they walked past Humphrey in the local mall.

As Oklahoma slowly let him go, Humphrey found a niche in the Notre Dame community. During the year he had to sit out because of transferring, Humphrey spent a lot of time with Robyn (‘Those two are sticking together throughout life,’ Lopes said. ‘They’ll be the best persons in each other’s weddings.’) He sat down and talked with Sampson, his old coach, last summer. He still stays in close contact with Lopes, and their families exchange Christmas cards.

And there’s no doubt that South Bend, the Midwestern hamlet replete with collegiate lore, has come to love its reluctant big man, even if he did crash its party in that scrimmage.

‘The city kind of embraced me,’ Humphrey said. ‘I feel that I’m part of the town now. I know every little hot spot, every little restaurant. I’m glad with my decision.’

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Published on February 14, 2002 at 12:00 pm