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Tonight, graduate senior forward Ben Humrichous will take the floor on the nation’s biggest stage as Illinois prepares to play in its sixth Final Four with a shot at the program’s first ever National Championship on the line.
Humrichous’ journey to Indianapolis is about as unique as any you’ll find on the court this weekend, a path less traveled by your average high-major recruit. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged back in 2020, he was an under-recruited 6-foot-9 big man who was already showing flashes of his unique skillset at the NAIA level.
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Current Oral Roberts associate head coach Kory Alford said he felt like he walked into a diamond in the rough after being hired as head coach of Huntington amidst the national chaos.
“I took over the Huntington job during COVID, and Ben had actually signed to Huntington,” Alford told Mid-Major Madness. “During the re-recruitment process, he was one that stood out on film as being extremely exciting. A guy with that kinda size that played weirdly out of position, it was a very unique prospect for us.”
That combination of size, versatility and being under-recruited during the pandemic allowed Humrichous the opportunity to start right away as a freshman under a first-year head coach in Alford.
When basketball returned for the 2020-21 season, he started 27 games for the Foresters and averaged 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest to help lead a 16-win season.
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Humrichous’ parents believed their son might redshirt upon arriving at Huntington, Alford recalled. Instead he started literally every game for the program in just his first season at the college level.
“I remember having a conversation with his dad after the first year,” Alford said. “He made an interesting comment and said, ‘Actually, going into the year, I thought Ben would redshirt.’ I think overall, his positional size and versatility is what allowed him to make an impact right away. But he just wasn’t consistent…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/naia-final-four-ben-humrichous-205411509.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-04 20:54:00
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