The Purple Aces' key to success? A healthy Ben Humrichous. 'He’s a really tough matchup.'

EVANSVILLE — Some Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball coaches are still learning how to pronounce his last name. Others simply call him No. 13, which they’ve memorized in film sessions after discovering what a challenge it is to match up with him.

Ben Humrichous (HUM-rick-house), a 6-foot-9 senior forward for the University of Evansville, has given opposing teams fits this season – especially as of late as he’s fully returned from an injury that sidelined him seven games in the conference schedule. With him, they’re 14-5 and more than 20 points per game better in league play. Without him, they’re 1-7 and those contests weren’t particularly close.

“I can’t pronounce his last name very well,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said recently with a laugh. “He’s a good player, man. I enjoy watching him.”

Watch Humrichous for five minutes and see how Wardle continued to describe his game in a nutshell.

High IQ. Versatile. Good feel. Great size. Capable of scoring in a variety of ways and guarding multiple positions.

“Having guys like that is critical for your team,” Wardle said.

That mini-scouting report passes the eye test.

Last Tuesday in a buzzer-beating loss against Drake, it was evident that Humrichous – who’s in his first season playing Division I after three years at NAIA Huntington (Ind.) – possesses all those attributes and more.

Evansville Purple Aces: Ben Humrichous made the jump from NAIA stardom to the University of Evansville. Why?

He scored a team-high 18 points, and it was interesting how he worked himself into the flow of the game offensively. His first two baskets were stolen. Two offensive-rebound putbacks that he read his teammates’ shot mid-arc, knew exactly how the ball was going to carom off the rim, and then zipped around a defender to grab it and quickly lay it in for two points.

High IQ. Versatile. Good feel.

He knows how to trail on a transition to knock down step-in 3s. He can pull up over the top of defenders and hit big, contested shots – like the one that tied the score against Drake with a few seconds left. He ranks in the top 25 in the nation shooting at a 45.4% clip from beyond the arc. It’s a tick higher against the top competition he’s faced to date: Chattanooga, BYU, Murray State and Drake (shooting a combined 13-for-28).

Humrichous, who averages 15.4 points per game, scored all 21 of his points in the second half on Sunday in an 86-78 loss at Illinois State. He takes what the defense gives him.

He’s quick enough to drive past opposing players his size. He’s a sneaky good ball-handler who can also leverage his size to back down guards and finish inside. He’s shooting 60% from inside the arc. In all, if he qualified, Humrichous would rank inside the top five in the MVC in effective field-goal percentage (a statistic that adjusts to account for the fact that 3s are worth more than 2s).

“He’s a really tough matchup from the standpoint that he’s a legit 6-8 (or) 6-9,” said Murray State assistant coach Jonathan Mattox, who provided much of the above assessment. “Skilled player. I’ve been really impressed with him over the course of the season.”

An attribute that doesn’t show up on a box score but is just as felt is his presence and leadership.

Early in the game against Drake, Humrichous made an uncharacteristic bad-pass turnover but didn’t sulk or beat himself up. He sprinted back on defense and helped get a stop. Once, he fell for a shot fake but didn’t give up on the possession – he sprinted over to help his teammates who just did the same for him.

He displayed good team defense and encouraged his teammates to stay focused. There was a questionable foul called on the Aces late in that same game, but Humrichous didn’t argue with the referees. He immediately called his teammates to huddle up and get ready for the next possession.

That comes from experience – even if it is mostly at the NAIA level. In his first year at Huntington, he said he was a much more emotional player.

“Over the years, I’ve learned I don’t play basketball well when I’m angry,” he said. “If I let emotions run high, I get out of control and become foul-prone or turnover-prone. There are times to be aggressive, but I don’t have to do that by becoming angry.”

UE is still learning to win when the game is on the line

Recently, Aces’ head coach David Ragland said the team formed some bad habits before Humrichous’ injury. There were too many possessions when he would bail them out and hit a tough shot or hustle to pick up someone else’s dropped assignment on defense.

“That’s not disciplined basketball,” Ragland said. “It doesn’t help you win games in the league when it's nip-and-tuck. We had to address that with the group.”

UE (15-12, 6-10 MVC) certainly took its lumps without Humrichous – going 1-6 in MVC play with an average margin of defeat of 23 points.

That is inflated by some lopsided results. But to the Aces’ credit, they took them in stride and did show life prior to Humrichous’ return to action. They only lost by seven at Northern Iowa before winning at home against Illinois State, which recently upset previously ranked Indiana State in Terre Haute.

There is a saying or culture that Ragland promotes internally that “even when you’re out, you’re in,” meaning that everyone has a role to play whether on or off the court in games and practice. For Humrichous, who was out for three weeks, it presented a unique challenge for someone described as a gym rat and always maximizing his time. He’s as even-keeled as it gets, but he had to learn to be patient with his recovery and find different ways to contribute.

“A loud gym is a winning gym,” he said. “Even when I was out, if I’m clapping and yelling and stuff, it can change the energy on the floor.”

Added Ragland: “Even when you’re out, you’re in. And he was phenomenal with that – clapping guys up on the sidelines, encouraging them (and) talking through actions. He stayed busy on the bike and medicine ball and pool, so he didn’t need to make it up when he got back.”

Ben Humrichous 'learned a lot through the injury' and recovery process

It also presented a challenge for Jeremy Portillo, UE’s graduate assistant sports performance coach and one of Humrichous’ closest friends in town.

Humrichous kept Portillo on his toes during the recovery process. Simply put, Portillo said he was tasked with keeping his mind active and creating the physical stimulus he desired from not being on the court. It would be a mistake to paint Humrichous as being high maintenance, though.

“I couldn’t ask for a better athlete to work with,” Portillo said.

“There was never a complaint. It was always, ‘What’s next? What more can we do? Can we do core today? Arms?’ A running joke was, ‘Let’s body build.’ … (My goal) was basically to keep him busy and do my best.”

But it was difficult for Humrichous, as it would be for any competitor. He has an opportunity to play professionally, but also has another year of eligibility remaining at UE, and he wants to – again – maximize the team he has in Evansville.

Part of that stems from his Christian faith.

The first thing he talked with Ragland about after the injury was how there's a reason for everything and this circumstance needed to be treated like any other – with complete trust. Ragland said Humrichous has a saying to “prove God right” and he tried to do that by making the most of his time off the court.

Even when you’re out, you’re in, a mindset Humrichous applied to his spirituality.

“It was super frustrating not to be out there playing … but there were blessings that came out of that,” he said. “I had an opportunity to work with coach Jeremy on some strength training, which is something I found I needed to be working on.

“I learned a lot through the injury.”

As did the Aces, who have beaten and are challenging the same teams seemingly bound to represent the MVC in the NCAA Tournament. Everyone seemed to get better during that span without their best player and it is showing.

Can they take the next step? How soon – this season or next? Four games remain in the regular season. They’re alone in 10th place (of 12).

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville basketball: Ben Humrichous is among MVC's best players