After being teased as a possibility on sites such as i95Ballerz since early August, Gonzaga high school senior standout Ian Hummer made his commitment to Princeton official last week.
The 6'7", 225 lb forward is the son of former Princeton star Ed Hummer '67 and the nephew of another Tiger legend - John Hummer '70.
We had a chance to speak with Gonzaga head coach Steve Turner on Friday and he gave us the scoop on this highly regarded prospect who passed up high major opportunities for the chance to play for the Tigers. Quotes, video highlights, player evaluations and articles can be found after the jump.
Turner, who is in his fifth season as head coach at Gonzaga, said that while Hummer is strictly a forward in the Eagles' system, he expects him to play as a 3 or a 4 in the Ivy League.
"Ian is very athletic and very long. He has the length of a kid who is 6'8" or 6'9", said Turner. "A lot of times he's stronger than [taller] kids he's going up against."
Many articles about Hummer all share the same word.
Banger.
"He throws his body around. He's physical. A very tough kid. He knows how to use his basketball smarts with that to his advantage," Turner added.
Hummer has been tested in high school, playing in the highly competitive WCAC. "Night in and night out, I think out league is the best in the country," Turner boasted. "Eighteen games of top-notch level competition."
Gonzaga High School is the same program that brought Luke Owings, John Thompson III and George Leftwich to Princeton.
"We've got two Princeton guys who have been part of the two city title teams at Gonzaga," Turner said with pride. "The only two in school history. 2003 [Owings] and 2007 [Hummer]."
Last season Hummer played alongside Harvard recruit Max Kenyi and Georgetown guard Jason Clark as the Eagles went 34-1, winning the WCAC tournament, the City Title and the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament. In the ACIT, Hummer was named Most Valuable Player, scoring nine points, grabbing 10 rebounds and swatting three shots in the championship game. In the City Title game Hummer went for 16 points and 14 rebounds.
What does Turner expect out of his senior forward this season? "We graduated a pretty strong senior group. He and [Duke recruit] Tyler Thornton are going to be asked to lead a bit more verbally, but I would still describe Ian as a 'lead by example' guy."
Why did Hummer choose Princeton, with basketball factories interested in offering him a free ride for his services? "He's a kid who really values education. He had a lot of high major opportunities, but he wanted the balance of basketball and academics," said Turner.
Hummer was praised by his coach for "his physical strength and his skill set. He really, from a young age, has been around great basketball. Learning from [his father and uncle] and learning from the guys they played with."
Turner feels that Hummer is one piece of a potentially special second recruiting class for Tigers coach Sydney Johnson. "It looks to me like [Princeton] has got a great 2009 class. The talk and buzz around college coaches is that [Ian is] going to be part of a really strong group of players."
ESPN lists Hummer as the #60 small forward nationally in his class, calling him "a highly skilled outside, inside forward. Ian moves very well without the ball and is a very good catch and shoot marksman from beyond the arc. He passes well off the high post but can also post up on the block and deliver nice hook shots or solid power moves. Hummer is a quintessential 'glue guy', who, with a few added inches, could vault into a top 50 player in the class."
The Washington Post wrote during his sophomore season that Hummer "just seems to do everything well -- spotting open teammates, getting to rebounds and scoring from the perimeter and on the inside."
After the Nike Main Event in July, CAA Insider wrote "Rarely does Ian take the court and not produce. The highly skilled lefty can do so many things with the basketball that he's tough to stop. He opened by hitting a mid range jumper and a pull up jumper after a short drive. Following that, he battled inside for an offensive rebound and drew a foul. Ian is surprisingly athletic as he showed with a pair of dunks and another pair of blocked shots. Defensively, he also picked off several passes and showed he can defend inside or outside. On the offensive end, he hit another face up jumper. He also passes quite well, including out of the post. Ian was quiet in the scoring department down low, but that's an area he's very capable of putting up points in too. This do everything forward will be an outstanding pick up for whomever lands him." The same site also has write-ups on Hummer from the Kobe Bryant Classic and the Southern Invitational.
Hummer tested well at the Gonzaga College High School Basketball Combine, causing a writer from Sparq Training to remark that the "Northeast touring crew left in awe of Hummer’s speed and agility; the big-man ran the 20-Meter Dash in 2.8 seconds and finished the Compass Drill in just 5.65 seconds. For a player of his stature, that quickness is hard to find! Hummer also showed the power that he brings to the court when he uncorked a mammoth 55’ Over-the-back power ball throw.
DC Metro Hoops calls Hummer one of the best players in the Washington, DC area, while Hoop Scoop placed Hummer 418th in the nation as a sophomore.
Many video highlights of Hummer in action can be enjoyed on DCSportsFan.com. That same site also wrote an article about Hummer that focused on his successes inside against bigger players.
Finally, here's the i95ballerz story on Hummer's commitment.
