One year of college basketball was good enough for Minnesota Gophers freshman forward Kris Humphries as he announced his intentions to enter the NBA draft Thursday.
The Gophers at 3-13 tied for the worst record in the Big Ten with Penn State. Humphries, however, pulled his own weight, leading the conference in points per game (21.7) and rebounds per game (10.1) in his only year as a collegian. That year of experience was all Humphries needed to deem himself ready to compete as a professional.
\It feels like it's the right time for me,"" Humphries said.
Humphries' departure marks the second underclassman to leave the Gophers for the NBA draft in as many years. Last year, Rick Rickert left the Gophers as a sophomore to be drafted in the second round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rickert is not currently on a NBA roster.
Gophers Head Coach Dan Monson sounded positive in commenting on Humphries' decision.
""I'm excited for Kris,"" Monson said. ""He's represented this university with nothing but class through a difficult year for this program.""
In two close games Thursday night, the Denver Pioneers and the Maine Black Bears advanced to the NCAA championship game. Denver scored four goals in the third period to defeat the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 5-3 and Maine sophomore goaltender Jimmy Howard recorded 40 saves as the Black Bears earned a 2-1 victory over the Boston College Golden Eagles.
In Thursday's first game, UMD jumped out to a 3-1 lead off two goals by senior forward Junior Lessard. Lessard's chance for a hat trick was denied with just over a minute left in the second period by Denver senior netminder Adam Berkhoel. The Pioneers responded by scoring four straight goals in the final period, including the game-winner by Denver senior forward Lukas Dora at 8:25 of the third period, for the final 5-3 score.
Thursday's second semifinal matchup featured much less an offensive output, but just as exciting a game. Maine jumped out to the early lead off a first-period goal by sophomore forward Jon Jankus, but Boston College's junior forward Ryan Shannon tied the game right back up at the beginning of the second period. The score stayed tied until junior forward Justin Penner scored the game-winning goal for Maine just a minute into the third frame. Howard fended off the rest of the Golden Eagles' chances and secured the 2-1 victory for the Black Bears.
Denver and Maine meet in the championship game Saturday.
The latest poll shows the University of Wisconsin ranked No. 8 in the United States Sports Academy Director's Cup standings with 438.75 points. The release marks the first time Wisconsin has ever cracked the Top 10 in these standings.
The Director's Cup measures a university's overall sports success by assigning points to a school's overall NCAA performance. Each university's top 20 sports-10 men's and 10 women's-are figured into the standings.
Overall, four Big Ten teams occupy the Top 10 of the Director's Cup. Michigan leads all universities with 817 points, while Penn State (fourth) and Ohio State (sixth) also fall among the Top 10.
