Illini Sign Humrichous

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Head Coach Brad Underwood announced Thursday that Ben Humrichous (HUM-rick-house) has signed a Big Ten Tender of Financial Aid with the University of Illinois and will join the Fighting Illini program as a grad transfer.

Humrichous is a 6-foot-9-inch, 220-pound forward from Tipton, Indiana. He played three seasons at NAIA Huntington (Ind.) University before making the jump to NCAA Division I last season at Evansville, where he made an immediate impact for the Purple Aces. Humrichous was named to the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Newcomer Team and tabbed as MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

"We're excited with the addition of Ben, a grad transfer who has tremendous college experience and is a talented, versatile, offensive player," Underwood said. "He is an elite shooter at 6-9; can shoot off the dribble, off screens, pick-and-pops, and play in post ups and isolations. He is a high character young man who is just an outstanding fit for how we want to play on the offensive end."

Humrichous started all 24 games in which he played at Evansville, leading the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and ranking second in rebounding at 4.7 boards per contest. A dangerous shooter from beyond the arc, he knocked down a team-high 53 three-pointers (2.2 per game) and shot a team-leading 41.4% from 3-point range (53-128), the fourth-best mark in The Valley. Overall, Humrichous shot 48.4% from the field (123-254)  and connected at a clip of 75.7% from the free-throw line (53-70). He scored in double figures 19 times, including four 20-point games.

Humrichous scored a career-high 28 points in UE's 85-77 win at Chattanooga on Nov. 24, and the next day poured in 27 more in a neutral-site win over Southeast Missouri State. His top rebounding game of the season came as part of a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double effort in the team's win over Illinois State in the first round of the MVC Tournament in March.

During his three seasons at Huntington, Humrichous led the Foresters to a 63-30 (.677) record, including back-to-back NAIA Tournament berths during his sophomore and junior seasons. Over the course of his final two years at HU, he averaged 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds, while knocking down 114 total 3-pointers.