by Step Siepel

A power forward that wore number 32 during his college career joins a team with Jerry Sloan in the coaching staff and that has a quick, white point guard that sat on the bench in his rookie year, which was last year. Sounds eerily familiar? And what if I say that the power forward has been compared to some former Louisiana Tech player because of the way he plays and competes? No? And if I said that the quick point guard is a pass first point guard just like the old school batch used to be? Still not convinced? Then I only have four words to offer:

“The city of Utah”

The right word for this is “spooky”. Not “an indication”, although I hope you can make fun of me because of that statement in about 20 years or so. The reason why it’s so spooky, for the people who weren’t there on draft day some 19 years ago, is that it’s exactly the same situation as when Karl Malone was drafted. And Kris Humphries, the power forward the Jazz just drafted, made the exact same mistake as the nervous Karl Malone made when he was drafted. He referred to Utah as “the city of Utah”.

Humphries, who exclaimed that he loved Stockton, Malone, and Sloan immediately after he was drafted, was a Golden Gopher last season. His playing there wasn’t all that certain from the start, as he originally committed to Duke. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski released Humphries from his letter of intent and then Humprhies appealed to the steering committee for eligibility last season. His appeal was granted, and he joined the Minnesota Gophers of coach Dan Monson.

"I'm excited for Kris that the process is complete and he'll be able to play for us this season,'' Monson said. "He brings a lot to the table and it's a big lift for our program.''

After Rick Rickets left the Gophers last season in favor of being a second round NBA pick the Monson coached team needed a frontcourt player. "He's an instant-impact guy,” coach Monson said of Humphries. “He fits right in from the get-go.''

Humphries was thrilled as well. "I'm looking forward to being a Golden Gopher this season,'' said Humphries in statement. "It's a big relief to have the process over and now I can concentrate on playing and being a big contributor my freshman year.''

It didn’t took him long to contribute. In the very first game of the season he scored 26 points and 15 rebounds, returning to the bench guided by a standing ovation.

“That was a great feeling," Humphries said after the game. "I know coming back here was the right decision for me. I'm really happy to be here."

Coach Monson praised his attitude in the game. "For a freshman to be that aggressive, I think we all know that's special," Gophers coach Dan Monson said.

During the season the rumor spread that Humphries, who already tried to make the jump from high-school to the NBA but withdrew his name because of lack of exposure, might want to leave the Gopher’s after his first season to enter the draft.

"I think we'll be able to help him reach his top level of potential," senior forward Michael Bauer said. "I told him, 'Take your time and do what's best for you. Don't put your feet out before the step you should be taking. As soon as the time comes to make that jump, then make it.’”

Bauer praises Humphries team-first attitude. “He's done everything this team has asked. We basically said if he wants to be a part of the team we were there to welcome him. If he wanted to come in and run the show on his own page, that obviously wouldn't have worked well."

Did the hype have an effect on Humphries? "People might think he buys into that, but he doesn't," former teammate Coleman said.

As the season progressed it became clear that Humphries was a talented young man. The well-built athlete, one member of the associated press even went as far as saying that famous sculptor Auguste Rodin could’ve sculpted his upper body, led the Big Ten in both rebounding and scoring. It was only the sixth time in college history that such a thing happened. The last time someone did that was Glenn Robinson in 1994.

"It's definitely an honor to be in that company," Humphries said. He was also named the conference’s Freshman of the Year. In addition to that he was voted by the coaches and media to the All-Big Ten selection. He averaged 21 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Humphries then decided to declare for the draft. "It feels like it's the right time for me," said Humphries. "It's tough to go," he said at a news conference at Williams Arena, "but I feel like I made the right decision."

The scouting reports started coming, praising his athleticism, his offensive game, his quickness, his work ethic, his rebounding, and the form on his shot. His defense, shot selection, and ball handling were the main areas of concern. Despite that, many saw him as a potential lottery pick.

"I definitely think he's a top 20 or maybe a late lottery pick," said draft expert Chris Monter. "He's maybe not as tall as the prototypical power forward and maybe he doesn't have the quickness of a small forward, but one thing I like about him is he works hard," Monter said. "He needs to work on putting the ball on the floor a little better and at times being a little bit more unselfish, but he had an outstanding season. For a freshman, that's incredible."

His coach, Monson, added to the enthusiasm by saying that "Everywhere he's gone, he's scored and he's rebounded. A lot of teams can use that."

And the Utah Jazz can certainly use that. O’Connor was thrilled with having him join the young Jazz squad.

"What he brings to the table," said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president for basketball operations, "is some quickness and some strength and some athletic ability."

Humphries returned the favor. “I was just so happy that that’s the only emotion I can give you, just joy and happiness. Going to a great team like that and being in the city of Utah in front of the great fans. I followed Utah Jazz basketball for a long time. I’m a great fan of Coach Sloan, John Stockton, Karl Malone. I had a feel before I came in and felt even better when I left.”

One of the draft analysts for ESPN wasn’t nearly has enthusiastic about the pick, saying that Humphries is a “me-first player” and too selfish for the team play of the Utah Jazz. All other reports, from coaches to former teammates of Humphries, seem to contradict that.

Although Humphries’ teammates seem lyrical about him, the same can’t really be said about the other guy the Jazz drafted, shooting guard Kirk Snyder.

"He was so offensive-minded and didn't want to pass the ball," senior forward Sean Paul said. "It was almost like the Kirk Snyder Show out there sometimes."

At least, that was the situation in the beginning. He toned down his selfish play and started making everyone around him better, according to Nevada coach Trent Johnson.

"People don't give Kirk enough credit for his understanding of the game and his willingness to buy into ... (making) other people around him better," coach Johnson said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that in my position, when you have a guy like that that can make plays, I am going to let him make a few."

Snyder’s choice of Nevada had a lot to do with that coach in the first place. "The thing that sold me was that coach was in the recruitment process," Snyder said. "He truly seemed like he cared. ... He stuck with me and everything paid off."

After sitting out the first ten games to gain academic eligibility, Snyder helped his team to its first winning season under coach Johnson and Snyder made the WAC All-Newcomer team.

Snyder quickly became a household name in college basketball. Not only because he got his team in the winning mood, but also because of the skills he possesses that a lot of others don’t have.

“He is one of the few players in the tournament who can grab a defensive rebound and go coast-to-coast,” Fran Fraschilla wrote for ESPN just before a game against Georgia Tech. “He has great vision in the open court and is athletic enough to get to the basket on anyone. He is the Wolf Pack's "de facto point guard. What makes him a difficult match up for Georgia Tech is his versatility.”

Those reports made it clear that the junior from Nevada wasn’t going to stay there another season.

"I know what I want to do and I'm not looking back," Snyder said after declaring for the draft. "I think it's time for me mentally and physically to take my game to the next level," Snyder told KTVN-TV in Reno. "It was one the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my whole life."

That he has learned to share the ball and make friends with his teammates is clear from an interview with Okeson, Nevada’s senior point guard. "He's big, He's physical. He's strong. He can play soft if he wants to. He can play back to the basket. He can bring up the ball when I'm tired," Okeson told reporters. "He does it all. ... He does an outstanding job at all four positions. He's not selfish at all."

A guaranteed first rounder was the label he got, and that was justified according to Dick Vitale. “After watching [Snyder] play, I wasn't shocked that Nevada did some damage in the NCAA Tournament,” Vitale said. “Snyder has great size (6-foot-6, 225 pounds), excellent perimeter skills and great vision. He can score and seems to understand how to play the game. Snyder has a good basketball IQ and a good understanding of shot selection.”

Scouts praised his court vision, passing abilities, strength, toughness, coach ability, work ethic, defense and rebounding skills. The knock on him was that he couldn’t shoot from outside. He has the range, but can’t hit it consistently from outside. He is also turnover prone, making bad decisions while dribbling and passing, although he does possess the right passing skills.

His workouts went well. So well that it even caused him to shout out that he would be the rookie of the year. O’Connor, who selected him with the 16th pick, chuckled when he heard that.

"It's like I told the kid: I hope he's right," O'Connor said.

Snyder was excited when he was picked. "When they called my name, I just wanted to run up there and hug (NBA commissioner) David Stern," said Snyder, relaxed and good-natured during interviews the next day. He thinks he is a good fit for Utah. He said he's a thinking player, as "Sloan demands. I have a lot of character; I have a lot of fun (and) work ethic. For a rookie that's all you can control."

Whether he is a perfect fit in Utah remains to be seen. Snyder, although a gifted slasher like kamikaze pilots Harpring and Kirilenko, doesn’t have the outside shot the Jazz so desperately need. If he wants to be successful, he needs to develop a shot that will fall consistently and keep the defense fair. Otherwise scoring will prove to be a tad more difficult than in college. Nevertheless he is a good defender for a college player, which equals getting playing time as long as either Sloan or Johnson reigns in Salt Lake City. But his inability to consistently hit the outside shot, as well as having the tendency of playing out of control, could break him up in the league. And with Giricek, Bell, and Kirilenko all being able to play his position, in addition to his weaknesses, that incidentally are things the Jazz need, it might be hard for Snyder to find his niche and contribute in the NBA.

I don’t have such doubts with Humphries. Although his passing need to improve and his defense seems suspect, he has all the skills and the right mind set to contribute in his rookie season. His rebounding and offensive versatility will help him get playing time with the Jazz. His playing time will also be aided by the lack of big men on the Jazz roster at the moment. Kirilenko can play there, but he’s more comfortable at the three. Stanford graduate Collins can play there as well, though he plays better at the five spot.

Graduate. That’s something Humphries and Snyder can’t say. Neither of them waited until their senior year, unlike Collins, who graduated from Stanford in 2001. Collins got good enough grades to graduate, maybe even better grades than the two new rookies during their short school careers. Snyder was never considered as a smart guy, even scaring potential colleges away with his academic results.

“His spotty transcript scared most of them off,” said a member of the associated press.

"As soon as things didn't look too bright, some of the other schools stopped recruiting me," Snyder said. "I was kind of a knucklehead."

"Kirk wasn't a risk at all," said Johnson, a former assistant at Stanford. "He's matured a lot as an individual over the past few years. He's been everything I thought he'd be."

I don’t know whether Collins actually is smarter than the two new rookies of course, although I’m still confident that Collins at least had a better grade than Humphries for one course...

Geography.

But maybe his academic mistake in his interview after the draft was a sign of things to come. Another college number 32 with a quick point guard, that’s a story we’ve heard before. Let’s hope it is an indication of things to come, although “spooky” still seems the best word for it all.