Homeward-Bound Gator

After all, he's a smart kid.

He's smart enough to have been named SEC Basketball's Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2006.

He's doing pretty well in applied physiology and kinesiology, so he knows how things work.

He understands how fans typically react to the defending national champion Florida Gators.

Still, the booing caught him a little off guard a year ago.

The former Maryville High School star and hometown hero was basically showered with boos every time he touched the ball in the Gators' 80-76 loss at Thompson-Boling Arena last year.

"I didn't quite expect it, but I think as a player you've got to take it as a compliment," Humphrey said on the eve of his final Florida visit to UT. "Anytime something like that happens, you've got to take it as a sign of respect and just focus on the game."

The 6-foot-2 senior guard and the Gators (25-4, 12-2 SEC) come into the UT game as losers of two of their past three SEC games.

Humphrey - averaging 9.9 points per game and ranked ninth nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (45.7, 75-of-164) - is more focused on getting a win than what kind of reception he'll get.

One thing he knows: Plenty of family and friends will be on hand again tonight, despite the fact UT didn't sell 600 tickets to the City of Maryville like it did a year ago.

His parents, Tony and Macheala Humphrey, will be at courtside once again, thanks to tickets provided by family friend John Thornton.

It's Macheala Humphrey who can't stand the "boos."

"Oh, I hated it," Humphrey's mom said. "That was tough.

"This little boy I was sitting with said, 'Mrs. Humphrey, my dad says your son is a good guy, why are they booing him?' I just had to tell him that it has nothing to do with the way he acts. It was just hard to explain to a little boy."

And it was her "little boy" the UT crowd was booing, the same little boy who spent his past two summers making trips to China and Brazil with a Christian "Sports Reach" team.

The same young man who grew up dreaming of playing for the Tennessee Volunteers.

He just didn't get the chance.

Florida and head coach Billy Donovan offered Humphrey a scholarship. Tennessee and head coach Buzz Peterson didn't.

That's how it worked and all that's fine with Humphrey.

He's a starting guard for the defending national champions.

"There were a lot of prayers for him to go where he was meant to go and that was obviously Florida," Macheala Humphrey said. "It has worked out wonderfully."

Everything has worked out well except for Humphrey's actual in-game performances against the Vols.

In seven previous meetings, Tennessee has won four times and Humphrey has never scored more than eight points.

"For me, it's the last chance to come home and play a college game in front of a lot of friends and family," he said. "That's exciting.

"Of course I want to play well in every game. I don't think I've had any of my best games at Tennessee, but I don't think it's because I'm pressing. I think that's just the way it has fallen. You just have to play it like any other game."