‘Crushed’ after loss at A&M, Kentucky and Humphries ready to move on

Assistant coach Tony Barbee does not expect Kentucky to suffer a hangover from the mountain high-and-valley low final 10 seconds at Texas A&M.

“This team has a pretty strong resolve,” said Barbee, who substituted for UK Coach John Calipari at a Monday news conference. “We were all crushed in that immediate first 24 hours after the game. We’ve since moved on to Alabama.”

That includes freshman Isaac Humphries, who was in the eye of the emotional hurricane at Texas A&M.

Referee Pat Adams called the technical foul when Humphries threw the ball to the court in apparent celebration of a key defensive stop by Kentucky with 9.4 seconds left in overtime.

Texas A&M made two technical free throws to take a one-point lead. The Aggies ultimately won 79-77 on a putback shot at the buzzer.

Barbee and UK forward Marcus Lee said Humphries did not mean any harm when he threw down the ball.

“It was just a kid who got caught up in the emotion of the moment,” Barbee said in an even tone devoid of rancor. “He was happy and was excited because he thought he had given us a chance to win.”

Barbee and Lee dismissed the notion that Humphries, being from Sydney, Australia, was not as sensitive to the consequences of throwing the ball forcefully off the floor.

“He didn’t feel he was trying to slam the ball,” Barbee said. “He was just caught up in the emotions of the moment.”

A statement issued by the Southeastern Conference indicated that Adams ruled Humphries had violated Rule 10, Section 3, which is a Class A Unsporting Technical Infraction.

The NCAA rule book explanation of Rule 10, Section 3 does not contain specific language saying that a technical foul shall be assessed when a player forcefully throws the ball to the court. Nor does the wording of the rule prohibit a referee from assessing a technical foul when a player forcefully throws a ball to the court.

Referees are not permitted to check a courtside monitor on such a play. The monitor can be used in deciding if a Flagrant One or Flagrant Two or a dead ball contact technical occurred. But referees cannot check the monitor for a technical called for throwing the ball to the court because no contact was involved.

It’s a judgment call.

After the game, UK point guard and floor leader Tyler Ulis said Humphries was crestfallen.

On Monday, Lee said Humphries was ready to move forward.

“Isaac is doing fine,” Lee said. “He’ll go into (Monday’s) practice and totally forget about it.”

UK’s dramatic rise and fall in the final 10 seconds overshadowed Humphries’ contribution. His six points, 12 rebounds, two baskets and one steal were all career highs. Only once (27 minutes at UCLA) had he played more than his 20 minutes at Texas A&M.

“Isaac’s been killing it the last couple games,” Lee said. “And he has been in practice. We love his energy and the strength. ... He did phenomenal in that game, and we couldn’t ask any more.”

Kentucky has been searching for a presence around the basket all season. UK’s lack of a low-post scorer is well chronicled.

The Cats also lack the customary banger in the lane. Another UK assistant, Kenny Payne, made that point vividly when he said the coaches believed South Carolina intended to try to intimidate Kentucky in their Feb. 13 game.

Alex Poythress, who hasn’t played since Feb. 2 because of a knee injury, returned to practice Monday, said Barbee, who added that he could not say whether Poythress would play against Alabama.

Another UK front-line player, Derek Willis, needed the assistance of crutches to keep weight off his right ankle as he moved from the training room toward the practice floor Monday. He sprained the ankle at Texas A&M.

Humphries gives Kentucky a physical presence.

“He’s not afraid to go in there and mix it up, bang and throw his body at people,” Barbee said. “He’s a confident player defensively and he’s confident in his rebounding ability.”

Humphries’ contributions have not gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“It’s phenomenal having Isaac on the team, in general,” Lee said. “He works really hard for everything he gets.”

With that in mind, it was not surprising to hear Barbee downplay the notion that Humphries will use the ill-timed technical foul as motivation.

“He’s a motivated kid anyway,” Barbee said, “so I don’t think that will motivate him any more than he already is.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline " ‘Crushed’ after loss at A&M, Kentucky and Humphries ready to move on."