Early draft selections

[PacerGuy]

I disagree with you guys about Hibbert. I think he will be a very solid NBA center. We shall see.

[Grang33r]

Speaking of the draft, guys, i was at the bar tonight watching the Pacers and had the Purdue game on and then Vandy vs. Kentucky. And it was my 2nd time seeing A.J. Ogilvy play. WOW the kid is amazing. If we get a mid/late first round pick i really hope we look at this kid. He is such a smart player, always in the right spot, defense is great, and he's so quick. Quickest big man ive seen in a long long time. Totally reminds me of Vlade Divac. His passing is unreal too.

[ajizzle]

Hibbert just needs time. If there's any place a big man should go to learn to play in college, I have to say Center U in Georgetown would be it... and he has a Thompson coaching him. I know III isn't his father, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. And Hibbert looked good in the Tourney last year, too.

When it's all said and done, Hibbert is 7'2, 280, a 4-yr student, a very good player in arguably the best conference in America, well-coached, well-known, good ON AND OFF the court (at least we haven't heard anything), and is probably gonna be really good in the Tourney.

Best-case: He's Patrick Ewing, and 20-10-3 guy in his prime and the anchor of a perennial playoff contender (namely the Pacers) for 7-10 years.

Worst-case: He's Dikembe Mutombo, a blocking/rebounding machine who doesn't need the ball to be effective, gets a lot of putbacks, and wins DPOY 3-5x, and still anchors a perennial playoff team for 5-7 years.

Either way, I think he's gonna be a helluva a pro. Not G.O.A.T. status, but defintely a name to be remembered in his era, and the next carrier of the torch of G-Town Bigs.

[count55]

If Dikembe Mutombo is a "worst case scenario", then he's worth having.

I'm not sure that's the case, however.

[cdash]

Rebounding machine? Seriously, how many times do I have to say it: He cant rebound in college! What makes you think that he will be able to in the NBA? Worst case scenario is not Dikembe Mutombo, and he would be insulted if he read that. Worst case scenario: Patrick O'Bryant.

[CableKC]

If Dikembe Mutombo is a "worst case scenario", then he's worth having.

I'm not sure that's the case, however.

From what I have read on DX and NBADraft.net.....Hibbert is a good scoring Big Man....but he isn't that fast.

I'm more concerned that we would have a Big Man that can't keep up with the pace of the offense that we demand.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Psyco T is where the money is at. Best college player I have ever seen. Puts up 25/10 being triple teamed. I would only draft him if we had 2 first round picks though, we need a PG first.

[cdash]

Thought this was interesting since we have been posting about it over here--this is from Chad Ford:

"Hibbert has been a top prospect for the past 2

[Scoot McGroot]

Hey, I'd gladly take him in the middle to late 1st round. There it's a no doubt selection.

In the lottery is where it's hard to choose.

[PR07]

I'm not that high on Hibbert. He doesn't possess great athleticism, and for his size, he's too much of a finesse player and lacks strength to really go strong in the interior.

[count55]

I pulled the "Hibbert" riff out of the trade deadline discussion and moved it here...we'd gone pretty far into the weeds.

[Boneman2]

I'd rather have Thabeet.

[Grang33r]

Give me A.J. Ogilvy any day of the week over those 2 stiffs.

[Boneman2]

^^^ At 6'10" AJ will be a PF in the league. If we do somehow acquire a late first rounder, we'd have to give him a look.

The thing about Thabeet is his blocking ability and athleticism at 7'3". He is a legitimate center prospect, whose offensive game is still quite raw, but steadily improving.

Here is NBAdraft.net's view of his strength's

For his immense size, Thabeet is an above average runner of the court

[Scoot McGroot]

nbadraft.net's view on DeSagana Diop (hint = his preview is remarkably similar to Thabeet's)

Strengths: Sagana Diop is a very athletic big man. he's close to 300 pounds and runs the floor like a small forward. he's very fast. coming from senegal, africa, he's only been playing competitive basketball for a few years so he figures to get a lot better. right now his best asset is his defense. he can hold opposing centers virtually scoreless with his smothering style of defense. he is a very good shot blocker, and can also help out and block other opposing players shots.

Weaknesses: he is not super polished offensively. he has soft touch around the basket but just hasn't developed the post moves to where they are automatic. there are very few centers in the nba game with his combination of strength, speed, and athleticism.


Amazingly agile and athletic for a 7 foot 310 pound center. Runs the floor very well. Still very raw offensively but the makings are there. Shows soft touch around the cup. Super strong, very good defender with great shotblocking instincts. Guarded Tyson Chandler twice last season and ate him up the first matchup, Chandler had a much better game the second time around but rarely scored over Diop. (Pronounced JOP).

[Boneman2]

A HUGE physical presence. Andrew is the biggest and strongest high school center to arrive in some time. Bynum is a legit 7 footer with great mobility. Offensively Bynum has a small but solid set of post moves, including a very effective baby hook. He is very good at backing down players into the low post and ending with a slam or short hook

[Bucky O'Hare]

Thabeet is already better than Diop has ever been. He's significantly taller/longer and more agile due to being 25~ pounds lighter. His offensive game is also coming along nicely....

Stat / Last Year / This Year
PPG / 6.2 / 10.9
FG% / .554 / .619
FT% / .513 / .685
PPS / 1.60 / 1.88


I can almost guarantee you Thabeet goes top-10. He's a better prospect than Hibbert.

[count55]

Thabeet is already better than Diop has ever been. He's significantly taller/longer and more agile due to being 25~ pounds lighter. His offensive game is also coming along nicely....

Stat / Last Year / This Year
PPG / 6.2 / 10.9
FG% / .554 / .619
FT% / .513 / .685
PPS / 1.60 / 1.88


I can almost guarantee you Thabeet goes top-10. He's a better prospect than Hibbert.

For those not familiar with the games, can you compare these guys to more recognizable guys, like Oden or, perhaps, Bynum?

[Bucky O'Hare]

There's a big Hibbert vs Thabeet debate HERE

I don't think either will ever be the center Bynum is on his way to becoming or Oden will be if he's even close to the hype. Thabeet, although improving, is still very raw offensively, can't pass out of the double-team, and doesn't have the strength of Oden or Bynum. Hibbert has skills and strength, but lacks athleticism. They're both underachieving rebounders.

Hibbert will always lack athleticism, thus you'd have to think his upside is limited. He does have good skills though, and would likely be an immediate contributor. Thabeet has all the physical gifts, it just depends on how hard he's willing to work to develop the skills. He has improved noticeably this season, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he's a good worker.

I'd rather have Thabeet for the reasons mentioned above. I feel he has a much higher payoff is he pans out. I think Thabeet's best case/worst case would be Mutombo/Diop with Samuel Dalembert as a median. I could see Hibbert being a total bust, as he doesn't have the monster defensive potential to fall back on. He's also a senior and has yet to have a truly dominating season despite his huge size and good skill level. That has to be a concern. I'd say his best case/worst case would be Ilgauskas/O'Bryant with Greg Ostertag as a median. Just my opinion.

[Boneman2]

It would be very hard to compare any center recently in the draft to Oden. Greg's game was polished from top to bottom, which is why he was the number one overall selection.

The main thing intriguing me in regards to Thabeet is his high -ceiling.

Besides I already stated that if we couldn't get Rose, Gordon or Mayo, then I'd entertain the possibility of Thabeet.

Our priorities should be either at point guard or center for obvious reasons.