After a very encouraging junior season at Georgetown, Roy Hibbert hasnt performed as well as many expected he would as a senior, with his efficiency falling off considerably, though his 60% field-goal percentage is still hardly anything to sneer at. Also, despite improving on his repertoire of moves and know-how in the post over the past three years, Hibberts minutes, points, and rebounds per game have mostly remained stagnant during that time period, which can be seen as concerning.
Looking at his game this season, one thing Hibbert clearly consistently does well with is his scoring in the painted area, where he has a nice repertoire of moves at his disposal. His bread-and-butter would have to be his hook shot, as hes nearly automatic with his right hand, and solid with his left as well. He can convert his hook shots in a variety of ways, either from a standstill, rolling across the lane, or coming off a spin move. With his height and length, these shots are virtually unblockable, and these are shots he likely wont have trouble getting off even at the next level due to his size. Hibbert clearly favors using these hook shots, but he will show off nice dropstep or turnaround jumper moves on occasion, and generally shows good footwork and transitioning between fakes and moves in the post, though he can be prone to traveling when he tries to do too much. His quickness in getting off moves, while not a problem at this level, may become an issue at the next level, where hell face bigger, more athletic defenders and have peskier weakside help to deal with.
In terms of finishing at the rim, Hibbert has excellent touch around the basket for the most part, though he struggles to finish through contact, not possessing a great amount of fluidity or explosiveness. Its also worth noting that he will rarely attempt to dunk the ball except when wide open, and when he does, he isnt always able to finish over opponents while making contact. This may be due to confidence and aggressiveness more than ability, as hes looked better in this regard in seasons past, looking for the dunk more often.
Without the ball, Hibbert is constantly working for position and calling for the ball in the post, and when he isnt, hes out on the perimeter setting screens for teammates. He shows a nice propensity for cutting and finishing off the ball as well, which is a large part of the Princeton offense Georgetown employs. Hibbert also shows nice ability as a passer, either kicking out of the post or hitting cutters through the lane. As for rebounding the ball, Hibberts 6.8 boards per game is slightly misleading due to his teams slow pace and his only playing 26 minutes per game, but he still is not a dominant rebounder, especially for his size.
Hibbert has shown a developing jump shot over the past few seasons, and while hes had some success with it this year (hes 2-for-2 on three-pointers, including one game-winning shot over UConn), he hasnt been consistently effective with it, even from 12-15 feet. Also concerning, while his mechanics have improved over the past three seasons, his free-throw shooting has dropped from 72% to 69% to 63%.
On the defensive end, Hibbert uses his length and size very well, especially in defending the post in man-to-man situations. Here he shows outstanding patience and isnt often beat, as very few players at this level can go over or through him, and he moves well enough laterally on the block to handle players at this level when they try to go around him, and if they do get around him, he has the length and timing on his shot-blocking to recover. Hibbert is suspect on the perimeter, though, as his lateral quickness is lacking there, and at times, he chooses to stay home in the paint rather than drifting out to contest jumpers against more perimeter-oriented opponents hes matched up with.
Hibbert is a senior, so hell automatically be eligible for the draft this season, where he should be firmly in lottery discussions. While hes been a very productive college player, there are many question marks surrounding his game and how it will translate to the next level. For one, while his conditioning on the court doesnt appear to be an issue from watching him, hes never averaged more than 26 minutes per game in his four years at Georgetown. Also, his below-average athleticism leaves doubts about how some of his offense will translate, while he already has issues defending perimeter players. While these are noteworthy concerns, his high work ethic, intelligence as a basketball player, improvement in his four years at college, and his lack of basketball experience prior to college are things in his favor, which GMs will have to strongly consider in evaluating his game in June. It should also be mentioned that he is extremely young for his class, having only turned 21 two months ago.
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