May
24
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Filed Under NCAA Basketball, Chicago Bulls
ROY HIBBERT TO THE BULLS AT NUMBER NINE AIN’T HAPPENING!
Well, the intrigue of Roy Hibbert landing with the Chicago Bulls at number nine in the NBA Draft has already come to an end. Hibbert has announced that he will return to Georgetown for his senior season and surpass the riches of pro ball for one more year of college life. Hibbert said in a press conference that he does not want to go to the pros and sit on the bench during his rookie season. He already took out an insurance policy last year in case he got hurt with the Hoyas.
Hibbert’s decision makes sense. This year’s draft is top heavy with big men and the fact that some projections had Hibbert in the top 10 and others did not was enough to sway the 7-foot-2 big man’s mind.
Furthermore, a solid senior season could land Hibbert in the top five of next year’s draft. While NBADraft.net currently has Hibbert at number eleven for the 2008 NBA Draft, there is always a premium on big men, especially centers, and the competition at the position next year is much more unproven and less appealing (Hasheem Thabeet of UCONN is a perfect example).
While it may not have happened anyways if Hibbert stayed in this year’s draft, I would have loved to see the Bulls get a shot at him. While slow, Hibbert has a soft touch around the rim and can score efficiently. He often did not get enough touches at Georgetown. With that said, he would have been a great fit for Chicago in that he would have kept defenses honest inside (where Chicago desperately needs someone who could score or at least present the ability to do so).
While Hibbert’s not going to be a guy who’s going to get a pro team 20 points every night, he would be a better post scoring option than anything that the Bulls currently have. And his excellent passing skills would have been a great fit for Chicago, a jump shooting team that lives and dies with how Ben Gordon and Luol Deng are shooting. Dumping the ball deep to Hibbert would have allowed Gordon and Deng to spot up and get open shots.
Hibbert’s size would have also been a nice fit for the Bulls in that it would have taken some of the rebounding load off of Ben Wallace’s shoulders. Hibbert could have also spelled the aging Wallace during the regular season and kept him fresh for the playoffs. It would have also been fun to see the shot blocking capabilities of Hibbert and Tyrus Thomas on the court at the same time.
The number nine pick doesn’t seem as intriguing for the Bulls as it once did without Hibbert in the draft. Chicago may be better off packaging this pick for a veteran post player. The draft is still a month away so there will be plenty of time for Bulls’ GM John Paxson to figure out how he can improve this team and get them to the next level.
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