As prospects--Roy Hibbert vs. Hasheem Thabeet

[babyjax13]

I think that this is a pretty interesting comparison looking at their size, and the similarities in their college stats.

Their stats in college compare pretty well.

Roy Hibbert 7-2 278lbs: 13p 7r 2a 2b
Hasheem Thabeet 7-3 263lbs: 14p 11r .5a 4b

It is pretty apparent that Thabeet is the better shot-blocker and rebounder based on college stats--but in the NBA he is going to have a much tougher time scoring. Hibbert has proven he can score Ok, and he is a good guy to have in the paint when you are defending the other team

This year in the NBA Hibbert averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds, so it is fair to say that he was a pretty good pick--will Thabeet be better in his rookie year, and which guy do you think will have the better career?

[ponder276]

They're very different types of players. Hibbert is slow, but hard to move off the block, and he has a polished offensive game. Thabeet is much more mobile and athletic, has longer arms, but has a much worse offensive game, and can be pushed around pretty easily (doesn't seem weak per-se, just poor balance). I can see Hibbert becoming a Big Z type center, while Thabeet can *maybe* become a poor-man's Mutombo.

Thabeet is considered by most to be a better prospect than Hibbert (the prospect), as he has a potentially higher upside due to his huge advantage in athleticism/mobility over Hibbert, but with the way Thabeet gets pushed around, I'm far from convinced he'll be the better player. If Hibbert can develop a dependable midrange jumper (his jumper looks promising), then I can see him becoming a Big Z type player very soon. Sure he's slow, but no slower than Big Z, and he has basically all the tools, skills and smarts that Big Z has (other than the jumper). Thabeet I think will be a bust, the only thing he does well is block shots, I think he's gonna get abused in the post on both offense and defense, and I think he'll be an average rebounder at best on the next level.

[Dr Positivity]

Ponder hit it... Hibbert has a good body but is very VERY slow, Thabeet is skinny but very mobile and quick. Hibbert will be a better stopper in the low post, Thabeet should be a better help defender and shotblocker.

I'd still take Thabeet between the two, I see him basically being a Tyson Chandler type, while I have my doubts about Hibbert surpassing like "prime" Kwame Brown

[PowerElite]

There's a 3 second defensive rule, and today NBA guards can not be touched by defenders. 7'0" true centers are not only rare but they are now obsolete. Today a center must have versatility and mobility in order to make it. Yao and Z are exceptions because they are supremely skilled basketball players. I wouldn't be shocked to see Thabeet fall in the lottery. A 7'0"+ true center with a suspect basketball IQ and limited basketball experience sounds like a recipe for disaster in the NBA of today. You just can't tell Thabeet to go stand under the rim on defense like Mutombo was taught earlier in his career.

[Cammo101]

Thabeet is a much better prospect. He is a vastly superior athlete and defender.

[revprodeji]

No need to confuse shot blocking with individual defensive or team defensive skills. Hibbert might not block everything, but he is a good defender.

[It_Was_Typed]

Hibbert is more polished offensively, while Thabeet is better defensively. Rebounding wise, they both could be better (guess they're about equal in that regard).

If Hibbert could stay out of foul trouble (I've never seen someone commit so many fouls in a short amount of time) he would do work.

[Canomad]

i see thabeet as diop but more athletic and can score a little better thats it.

[Chuck Everett]

If Hibbert could stay out of foul trouble (I've never seen someone commit so many fouls in a short amount of time) he would do work.

Sure you have. You just watched Greg Oden all season. True big men get in foul trouble as rookies in the NBA. It's just a paragon that you cannot escape in this league. What 7'2 guy has been a speedster in this league? Ryan Hollins is fast, but he's a bum. Johan Petro is fast and he's a bum. Z is slow and is better than 90% of the centers.

You can't teach height and if you see Hibbert's last month splits he was playing very well, even if O'Brien for some reason kept capping his minutes for a guy like Jeff Foster, who was so overrated as a defender and rebounder.

Thabeet needs to learn the NBA and he will be fine, same as Hibbert and Oden. People seem to really dislike true centers nowadays unless they are athletic freaks like Dwight Howard. Yao Ming proves you don't have to be that way and succeed in this league from the 5 spot.

[Smills91]

Roy Hibbert = Rasho Nesterovic. Solid center that can hold down the fort if you got the other 4 positions settled. Otherwise, he's nothing special AT ALL.

[CableKC]

Ponder hit it... Hibbert has a good body but is very VERY slow, Thabeet is skinny but very mobile and quick. Hibbert will be a better stopper in the low post, Thabeet should be a better help defender and shotblocker.

I'd still take Thabeet between the two, I see him basically being a Tyson Chandler type, while I have my doubts about Hibbert surpassing like "prime" Kwame Brown

Comparing Hibbert to Kwame isn't a good comparison since both completely different type of players....as Hibbert has a better offensive game then Kwame does whereas Kwame is more athletic and "defensive minded" then Hibbert is and has hands of stone on the offensive end.

As ponder276 suggested.......it's better suited to compare Hibbert to Big Z. The best comparison that I could come up with woudl be Big Z or ( more apt ) Rik Smits.

[CableKC]

If Hibbert could stay out of foul trouble (I've never seen someone commit so many fouls in a short amount of time) he would do work.

Then you must not have watched Jerome James play before

I agree with the statement, but find me a Rookie Center that hasn't come into the league without getting into foul trouble. For now ( obviously being biased ), I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt....since this is his 1st year in the league.....but ask me again in a year. I pray that he's able to get better at staying out of foul trouble just so that he can remain on the court.

[Joana]

The coaching staff in Indiana did a great job teaching Hibbert how to play "lower" and quicker.

Jim O'Brien's defensive system, on the other hand, is a complete killer for bigs like Hibbert - he's too slow to cover so much floor as JOB demands. That's one of the reasons why Hibbert struggled so much with fouls. He also needs to improve his rebounding; in Georgetown they don't teach bigs to fly for the ball, so maybe his still has some untapped potential there. I think Hibbert can be a serviceable starting center; he shall be able to be a good low post defender. Needs to be paired with a more athletic PF though. Smits was a much better offensive player when he entered the league, more polished than Hibbert.

Thabeet is a different player, in spite of their similar stats: he doesn't have Hibbert feeling for the game, he never played the in the Princeton offence, but he has the tools to be a very good defensive player. He's very nimble in spite of his height.

[TheBoondocks]

Thabeet's clearly the better prospect. He's the most mobile 7'3'' player I've ever seen on the defensive end of the ball. Obviously he has offensive defenciencies, but those are things that he can work on with the right big-man coach. If he does end up with OKC, hopefully they'll employ someone like Kareem or McHale so that he can actually get the proper coaching and training to succeed in the NBA.

[GameTime_3]

They're very different types of players. Hibbert is slow, but hard to move off the block, and he has a polished offensive game. Thabeet is much more mobile and athletic, has longer arms, but has a much worse offensive game, and can be pushed around pretty easily (doesn't seem weak per-se, just poor balance). I can see Hibbert becoming a Big Z type center, while Thabeet can *maybe* become a poor-man's Mutombo.

Thabeet is considered by most to be a better prospect than Hibbert (the prospect), as he has a potentially higher upside due to his huge advantage in athleticism/mobility over Hibbert, but with the way Thabeet gets pushed around, I'm far from convinced he'll be the better player. If Hibbert can develop a dependable midrange jumper (his jumper looks promising), then I can see him becoming a Big Z type player very soon. Sure he's slow, but no slower than Big Z, and he has basically all the tools, skills and smarts that Big Z has (other than the jumper). Thabeet I think will be a bust, the only thing he does well is block shots, I think he's gonna get abused in the post on both offense and defense, and I think he'll be an average rebounder at best on the next level.

+1