Manual’s Humbles, PND’s Mingus win Torq Fitness Athletes of the Week

The final winners of Torq Fitness Athletes of the Week from the winter season helped lead their teams to state and were big pieces of historic teams that brought home impressive hardware.

Manual’s Josh Humbles and Peoria Notre Dame’s Julia Mingus won the latest honors, with Humbles playing a key role in the Rams’ fourth-place finish in Class 2A and Mingus ending her career with a state runner-up trophy in Class 2A as well. 

Read more about our winners and get to know them in Q and A’s below: 

Humbles won Torq Fitness Boys Athlete of the Week in a runaway, receiving 82 percent of the total votes in the boys poll. The junior guard led the Rams with 18 points in their 62-49 win over Sherrard in the sectional title game after putting up 11 in the scoresheet in their 65-46 win against Macomb in the sectional semifinals. After being one of five Manual players with six more points in its 52-29 super-sectional win over Williamsville, Humbles had 11 points and seven assists combined between both of Manual’s games at the IHSA State Finals in Champaign. Humbles averaged nine points and 4.6 points per game over the season.

Get to know Humbles in a Q and A here:

What’s been your favorite memory of the season so far?

“My favorite memory was being able to go to coach [Marvin Jordan’s] house and bonding with the team and creating a brotherhood outside of the court.

If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why?

I would say Reggie [Postlewaite] because he’s one of the smartest on the team and a critical thinker like me, [it’s a] ‘great minds think alike’ type of situation.”

Favorite music artist?

“NBA Youngboy.”

Favorite food?

Jerk chicken alfredo.”

Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?

“I pray with my godbrother Keyion and listen to my favorite artist before every game to lock in.”

Who’s your favorite college or professional athlete?

“Steph Curry.”

Do you have any hidden talents?

“My hidden talent is juggling and cooking.”

Who’s your role model and why?

“My mom and dad because they taught me to never give up and always push past my limits to be the best version of myself and also my coach, Marvin Jordan. He taught me not to worry about the mistakes but think about the next best action to fix those mistakes.”

Mingus won Torq Fitness Girls Athlete of the Week after receiving 56 percent of the votes in the girls poll. The senior guard, who is signed on to play at Illinois-Springfield next season, propelled PND to its second straight top-2 finish in the state. Mingus was uncontainable in PND’s 67-56 super-sectional win over Stillman Valley and finished with 10 points and four steals in a convincing 61-35 win over Mt. Carmel in its Class 2A state semifinal. She added a team-high 11 points and three assists in the Irish’s loss to Nashville in the state title game. Mingus finished her season averaging 15.4 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game and 2.2 assists per game.

Get to know Mingus in a Q and A here: 

What’s been your favorite memory of the season so far?

“My favorite memory this year is going back to state and getting the chance to play at ISU again.”

If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why?

“If I was stranded on an island, I would want to be stranded with Cora Heinz because she is tall and can reach things easily.”

Favorite music artist?

“I don’t really have a favorite music artist but I like listening to country music.”

Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?

“I don’t really have any specific pregame rituals, but on the way to games I like to sleep on the bus.”

Who’s your favorite college or professional athlete?

“My favorite professional athlete is Caitlin Clark.

Do you have any hidden talents?

“I don’t really have any hidden talents.”

Who’s your role model and why?

“My role model is my dad because he has an amazing work ethic and wants to be good at whatever he is doing.”