Lee Anthony Humphrey (born April 23, 1984) is an American-born professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, who last played for BC Juventus of the Lithuanian League. Humphrey played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and was a key member of the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

teams that won back-to-back NCAA national championships in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. He set both the season and career records at Florida for three-point field goals, making 113 in back-to-back seasons and 288 in his college career.

Early years

Humphrey was born in

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist desti ...

in 1984. He attended Maryville High School, where he played high school basketball for the Maryville Rebels. As a senior, he was named Tennessee's Class AAA

Mr. Basketball Mr. Basketball is an unofficial award given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in many U.S. states, regions, or metropolitan areas. Conversely, the title Miss Basketball or Ms. Basketball is used for the best high ...

for the 2002–03 season after averaging 27.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists.

College career

Humphrey accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, and he played for coach Billy Donovan's

Florida Gators men's basketball The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played in the O'Connell Center, Exactech Arena at the ...

team from 2003 to 2007. He emerged as a prolific weapon from outside the arc during the 2005–06 season in which he hit several clutch three-pointers, including three in the Final Four against George Mason and the championship game against UCLA. The 73–57 win over UCLA was the clincher of Florida's first national basketball championship. The Gators finished the season with a 33–6 mark. Lee Humphrey

Humphrey's dominance continued during the 2006–07 campaign and with the other members of the starting five returning, the Gators rolled to a 35–5 record. On March 23, 2007, in the St. Louis regional NCAA tournament game against the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...

, the game was delayed 10 minutes after a three-point shot Humphrey made damaged the net. During the 2007 Final Four, he hit four three-point shots in his team's 76–66 victory against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in becoming the record holder for most three-pointers made during the NCAA tournament, surpassing former Duke star

Bobby Hurley Robert Matthew Hurley (born June 28, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. He was previously the head coach at the University at Buffalo. As a college ...

. On April 2, 2007, he won a second NCAA basketball championship with the Florida Gators, scoring 14 points in an 84–75 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. This win established

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

as the first team to repeat as NCAA basketball champions since

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

, in 1991 and 1992. Humphrey was also a proven academic success, becoming just the second Gators basketball player to be named a first-team Academic All-American. Humphrey also served as the President of the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was found ...

Chapter at the University of Florida. He graduated from the university with a bachelor of science degree in applied physiology and kinesiology in 2007.

Statistics

Records

NCAA Basketball *Most made 3-point field goals NCAA tournament play: 55 in 14 games *Most consecutive games making a 3-point field goal in a season: 39 games from 11/14/06-4/2/07 Florida Basketball *Most 3-point field goals in a season: 113 in both the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 seasons *Most 3-point field goals in a career: 288

Professional career

On June 30, 2007, Humphrey accepted an offer from the Washington Wizards to participate in their summer league but was cut. He then crossed the Atlantic, signing on with PAOK, one of Greece's best-known club teams. When the team signed a third American player, Humphrey was cut due to league rules that limit team rosters to two American players. He spent the second half of the 2007–2008 season in Poland playing for Energa Czarni, but saw limited minutes. In July 2008, Humphrey signed a one-year contract with

Ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

, a south German team playing in the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(first German division). After spending the 2011–12 season in the NBA Developmental League, he signed with Denain of France's second-tier league. On December 27, 2014, he signed with BC Juventus of the Lithuanian League. On January 7, 2015, he left Juventus due to back issues. He played 2 games averaging 6 points.

Personal life

Humphrey is married to his college sweetheart Chelsea, and father to sons Oliver (4 in 2018) and Jude (18 months in 2018) After retirement from professional basketball, he joine
Pontoon Solutions
in 2015, where he became the Sales Director in April 2021. He also has received his Master of Business Administration from Florida International University – College of Business in 2015. In the 2021–22 NCAA men's basketball season, Humphrey has performed as an analyst for the radio broadcasts of Florida Gator men's basketball games.

References

External links

Kansas City Star article about Lee

University of Florida NCAA athlete profile

ESPN Player Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Lee 1984 births Living people Alba Fehérvár players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Basketball players from Tennessee BC Juventus players BC Kyiv players Czarni Słupsk players Denain Voltaire Basket players Florida Gators men's basketball players P.A.O.K. BC players People from Maryville, Tennessee Point guards Ratiopharm Ulm players Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Shooting guards