East Kentwood lands a 6-foot-9 transfer with nine D1 offers

East Kentwood’s Christian Humphrey-Rembert shoots a jump shot over a Parchment player at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Christian Humphrey-Rembert walked on to the basketball court at Cornerstone University wearing red and white warmups with East Kentwood logos on the front.

He looked in the crowd with a smile on his face. 

The 6-foot-9, 208-pound junior wanted it to be a surprise that he had come back home over the holiday break.

“I didn’t want to post about it saying I was coming back,” Humphrey-Rembert said. “I wanted to do something different. So I waited until I got there (at Cornerstone) and we pulled up in the bus and everyone could see me in an EK uniform.”

He scored 22 points in just three quarters to help East Kentwood beat Parchment 70-34 on Tuesday night in the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament.

So who is Christian Humphrey-Rembert and why is this a big deal?

He’s one of the most talented players in the state, who left East Kentwood after his freshman year to play at LaLumiere Prep School in LaPorte, Indiana. He played a handful of games already this season with LaLumiere, but he wasn’t getting the playing time he wanted. So at the semester break, he returned home.

East Kentwood’s Christian Humphrey-Rembert dunks in the second half at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. He finished with 22 points. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

“I ended up back at Kentwood,” Humphrey-Rembert said. “LaLumiere was a great place for me. But I wanted to be in the gym more. So going back to a school that I was already at, I knew I could get that (playing time). So I decided to come back home.”

So how was he able to play immediately at East Kentwood?

“Due to it being a prep school, yes I can (play right away),” Humphrey-Rembert said. “Since it’s not a public school, it doesn’t follow the same rules.”

Humphrey-Rembert has been on the radar of college coaches for two years. He has offers from nine Division I programs: Cal Berkeley, Howard, UC Santa Barbara, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Western Michigan, Southern Utah, Saint Louis, Stony Brook and Cal Poly. 

East Kentwood’s Jah Hatchett scored 22 points as the Falcons beat Parchment at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

Sophomore guard Jah Hatchett, who also had 22 points against Parchment, said having Humphrey-Rembert on the team is huge.

“He changes a lot,” Hatchett said. “He’s 6-9. So everyone will focus on him more. So he’ll get his looks and when he gets doubled, that will get everyone else wide open. It’s going to open up our offense a lot.”

East Kentwood coach Mike Thomas was shocked that Humprey-Rembert fell in his lap. Thomas, who coached Grand Blanc to the Division 1 state championship last year, had never heard of the big man.

“No, I hadn’t,” Thomas said. “I was busy with building my program over in Grand Blanc. I found out our last day of school on the 16th (of December). We found out he was registered on the 16th and that’s when he got his classes. His first practice was over Christmas break on last Tuesday.”

Humprey-Rembert said academics are just as important as basketball to him. He had a 3.73 GPA at LaLumiere.

“EK is a good academic school that offers all the AP classes (that I need), so that works out fine for me,” he said.

But on the court, this might just turn East Kentwood from an afterthought to a state title contender. 

“We’re very lucky to have a guy like Christian to come here,” Thomas said. “As you can see today, the dynamic that he brings to our team is unbelievable. We’re lucky to have him and I’m lucky to coach someone with that kind of talent.”

On Tuesday, Humprey-Rembert’s first points of the game came on a thunderous dunk. It was his way of announcing he’s back.