Humphries Drawn to United "Prestige"

By Dan Woods - NBL Media

When Melbourne United entered the NBL in 2014, a key part of the club’s identity was acknowledging and absorbing the history of the Victorian teams that had competed in the competiton before it.

Not just the Melbourne Tigers, who they immediately replaced in the league, but also sides like the St Kilda Saints, South Dragons, and Victoria Giants among others.

That draw of the great clubs that came before United is a tangible and attractive asset, according to new signing Isaac Humphries.

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“I know Melbourne United is one of the most prestigious and historically best clubs in the NBL,” Humphries told SEN.

“They walk into a gym and you’re already a little intimidated just because it’s United. The fact they were interested in me and I had the opportunity to sign there got me very excited again.

“When I felt that excitement I immediately knew it was where I wanted to go because it was a feeling I hadn’t had in a few months. It happened very naturally.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great to have <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a> recruit Isaac Humphries on the show<a href="https://t.co/Pa7IMlDmgi">https://t.co/Pa7IMlDmgi</a></p>&mdash; Andy &amp; Gazey (@TheRunHomeSEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRunHomeSEN/status/1556884809410297856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A former NBL Rookie of the Year winner, Humphries has been on ice for almost six months, after persistent knee problems curtailed his 2021-22 season with Adelaide.

Still just 24 years of age, nagging knee and foot issues have largely curtailed the early part of his career. At his best Humphries is certainly an NBA talent – as indicated by his stint at the Atlanta Hawks at the end of 2019.

He says a considered approach to his training and rehabilitation has left him in tip-top shape for the upcoming season.

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“I needed to lose some fat and put on muscle. I’ve actually gained, weight but the composition of it all means it’s good weight,” Humphries said.

“That was absolutely part of my process, being a knee injury I needed to have has little weight as I could on my top half so I went about my approach very holistically.

“I went with a really good nutritionist and we put together a diet plan that worked with my training plan. We ended up getting my body fat down a lot and that in turn took away a lot of my knee pain.

“It was a really cool process, sculpting my body and changing it over the last four or five months. We hand-picked what we wanted to do and put it together which is pretty awesome.”