With the emergence of freshman sensations Michael Beasley and Kevin Love, along with veterans Tyler Hansbrough, Richard Hendrix, Jarvis Varnado, Blake Briffn, Deandre Jordan, Luke Harangody, Hasheem Thabeet, Brook Lopez, and other outstanding big men likely entering the draft, it left me thinking that Roy Hibbert's draft stock has dropped.
Last year's loss to No. 1 pick Greg Oden and this year's unexpected exit certainly haven't helped him. Hibbert declined to enter last year's draft, saying he'd rather be a top 5 pick in 2008 instead of a top 10 pick in 2007.
Well that strategy has definitely backfired.
3 Reasons Why Hibbert has hurt himself in the eyes of NBA Scouts
1. Lack Of Productivity
Roy Hibbert does not produce at the level he should be. Face it there aren't that many 7-2 270+ guys that Georgetown plays everynight so he should be having his way with almost anybody. Roy limits himself every time he steps on the court and it reflects on his numbers, 13.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 26.4 minutes per game. Numbers expected from a good freshman not a senior.
2. Foul Trouble
He's always in foul trouble, which is exactly why Hibbert's team lost against Oden's team in the Final Four, exactly why the Hoyas weren't the Big East Champs this season, and exactly why they were eliminated by Davidson. He had five fouls in the Davidson loss, four against Pittsburgh in the Big East Tournament, and four against then No. 1 Memphis. Roy Hibbert has a tendency to choke in big games and to pick up cheap and meaningless fouls.
3. Depth In This Year's Draft Class
This one isn't even is fault. This year's draft class is expected to be the deepest class since the '03 draft that produced players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Josh Howard, and Chris Kaman.
My analysis of Hibbert is that he will be a 2nd round draft pick.
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6 months ago
Don't forget that he can't lead a team loaded with talent anywhere in any playoffs, and 0 leadership cabability. No chance he'll make it as a big time NBA center.
6 months ago
You made some good points, but Elton Brand was drafted in 1999 and Dwight Howard in 2004.
6 months ago
you really need to do some research before you publish an article because Dwight Howard and Elton Brand were not in the same draft class as LeBron, Wade, and Co. Did you forget about Elton Brand's Chicago Bulls days? Probably not because you're only 16 years old.
6 months ago
I don't think that even Hansbrough will be that great of a player in the NBA. Hansbrough reminds me of Mark Madsen, same type of player on college and look at Madsen now, 12th man on the bench. Hansbrough doesn't have that developed of a jumpshot and is undersized. Hibbert can play, especially in the Eastern Conference where there definitely isn't much size as far as centers go.
6 months ago
Also, Hibbert will be a first round selection, no way a guy who is a good passer and a good post up player when he isn't in foul trouble will drop to the 2nd round. Especially when there are a lot of teams out East that could use his help.
6 months ago
Hibbert will be fairly successful. In college, Hibbert saw double and triple teams consistently. In the NBA, I don't think any team puts two guys on the big man. He is an effective scorer from the inside and has shown he can make an outside jumper as well.
His biggest weaknesses are foul trouble and inconsistency. Hibbert, being the only big man on the Hoyas, would play huge minutes and pick up a lot of fouls as teams attacked him. Also, Roy for some reason likes to come out and defend the top of the key where he is forced to foul a guard before he gets to the rim on an uncontested lay-up.
If Roy is emotionally involved in a game, he is incredible. Against West Virginia in the Big East Semis, Roy was dominant and you could tell his heart was in it. Sometimes though he just appears lackadaisical and this type of play hurts the team. I think he'll be solid because he has the fundamentals down, but his lack of athleticism might hurt him. That said, he should still be a first round pick solely since he's 7'2 and has fundamentals.
6 months ago
Apologies about the Elton Brand and the Dwight Howard mixup.
6 months ago
Hibbert is quite possibly the most overrated guy in NCAA basketball. He is basically a body in the middle to take up space. He gets blown by by any post player with any hint of athletic ability, which is what he will be facing in the NBA. Saw him play in person this season, nothing to write home about really.
6 months ago
Yea, it's quite interseting how this has happened. I saw an early mock draft that had him falling all the way to the Jazz. That is a long way from the top 5.
I wouldn;t complain at all if this happened, but personally, I would rather have Hasheem Thabeet drop to the Jazz
6 months ago
A lot of my casual conversations about Hibbert have been about how people think he is the most overrated player in college basketball.
I can't say I watch a lot of Georgetown bassketball, I watched enough to pick them to win it all foolishly. But I think it's a stretch to say he's the most overrated.
Of course his stock will drop though.. I mean I support people who stay in college, but sometimes you gotta strike while the iron is hot. Last year it was hot, he was taking a risk this year.
6 months ago
Hibbert definitely hurt his draft position but he'll still make First Round. Cmon even stiffs like Spencer Hawes and Jason Smith were First Rounders last year. Decent big men always do well in the draft. Even if he doesnt make the lottery, many playoff teams that need size will want to take him as a low risk pick since he wont cost that much anyway.
I admire that he stayed in school, tried to work on his game and tried to win a championship. Too bad it backfired. Should have gone last year when he was a probable lottery pick. Maybe he should have realized Georgetown wouldn't be a contender without Jeff Green. Oh well, being drafted in a lower spot may have cost him a few million dollars, but its not the end of the world.
6 months ago
Hibbert will drop in draft position, and perhaps deservingly so, but he's a hell of a lot better than people give him credit for. Of course his numbers are low, Georgetown's style of play inevitably limits how much an individual player can contribute, both in pts and rebounds. Look at Jeff Green, picked 5th in the draft, Big East player of the year, and his numbers were far from extraordinary (not much different than Hibbert's actually). Jeff Green also suffered a similar criticism: an unwillingness to take over a game (based on his final sub-par performance against Ohio State). Again, couldn't that be due to the Georgetown system??
Hibbert can be a little slow but his strong footwork makes him deceptively quick when he has the ball. It's also worth pointing out that Hibbert has consistently had success against NBA sized centers, from Oden to Thabeet. He was much worse at getting himself in foul trouble his Junior season, but will inevitably be remembered for his final collegiate game where the refs were a little too quick to blow the whistle on a couple occassions. I expect with fouls Hibbert will fair better in the NBA where some forms of contact are more accepted.
I doubt Hibbert has the physical tools to ever become a dominant NBA center, but he's definitely good enough to have a long NBA career as an adequate starter (eventually) or a very good backup. Not bad given the dearth of legit centers in the NBA.
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