Growth Is Clear, if Not Measurable, for Gonzaga's Hummer

Ian Hummer figures he has grown a few inches in the two years since he began high school. Exactly how tall Gonzaga's rising junior center might be, however, is unknown. For while height might be the most basic of statistics for a basketball player, Hummer won't go anywhere near a tape measure, guessing he is "6 [feet] 5 or 6-6."

"When I get home, my dad always wants to measure me, but I always say no," said Hummer, whose father, Ed, played on Princeton's 1965 Final Four team that featured Bill Bradley. "I don't want to measure myself because I don't want to jinx" any potential growth.

Whatever the exact measurement is, Hummer continues to develop on the basketball court. He joined Gonzaga's starting lineup for the final two months of last season and figures to be a major contributor this coming winter. Last night, he scored a game-high 16 points as the Eagles defeated Eleanor Roosevelt, 69-47, in The Rock summer league's championship game at High Point.

"He's very skilled and knows how to play the game," Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner said. "He's a player with a great basketball IQ. For him, that runs in the family."

Even as he continues to makes plays, it might be easy to overlook Hummer on Gonzaga's talented roster. One teammate, forward Cameron Johnson, already has accepted a scholarship offer to play football for the University of Virginia. Forward Max Kenyi holds more than 20 scholarship offers to play college basketball.

Guard Tyler Thornton, a rising sophomore, is considered one of the area's best players in his class. Another sophomore guard, Cedrick Lindsay, made three three-pointers in a two-minute stretch of the first half to help put the game out of reach. Lindsay finished with 14 points, Thornton had 11.

Then there is Hummer, who just seems to do everything well -- spotting open teammates, getting to rebounds and scoring from the perimeter and on the inside.

Hummer hopes he grows to be at least 6-8. If that happens, Turner said, Hummer could go from being a mid-level recruit -- Loyola, Niagara and James Madison already have offered him scholarships and Ivy League teams are very interested -- to a top-tier prospect.

"He's a very versatile player," Turner said. "He can beat you a lot of different ways. Sometimes it doesn't show up in the statistics."

Gonzaga 69, E. Roosevelt 47 Summertime Champs: Gonzaga is trying for its second undefeated summer in six years. The Eagles went 32-0 in 2002 and then went on to win the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and City Title championships. Up Next: Gonzaga plays DeMatha in its Kenner League regular season finale on Saturday at 1 at Georgetown's McDonough Gymnasium, though both teams could be missing key players as several travel-team tournaments take place in Las Vegas.