Bilas' Take On Jeff and Roy's Prospects

[SFHoya99]

25 and a 10 might be a bit much, but if he goes to a bad team that features him offensively, I could see better than 17 and 7.

[hoyarooter]

I think hifi actually offered excellent insight here. If Jeff and Roy return, any loss will be treated like a national calamity, and if we don't win it all, half the board members will be ready to jump off the Key Bridge. Just the way it is with heightened expectations.

[nodak89]

With regards to the Yao comparison, I may have overstated my position.

Yao is a 4 year NBA vet who will be 27 in September.
Roy is a soon-to-be college senior *fingers crossed* who will be 21 in December.

Imagine Roy as a 4 year NBA vet in 2012.

-------------------------------------------------------
OK. I'll take off my Roy-colored glasses now.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

If you don't already treat each loss as a national calamity then it's obvious that you still have reatained some perspective and haven't truly dove head first into fandom.

[chep3]

I love Roy but he's not going to be Yao Ming. I think Hifi has it completely right. If we're willing to start expecting Roy to become the best center in basketball, imagine what the expectations would be if we brought them both back.

[Locker]

Remember this JT3 quote:

"One day, Roy is going to be one of the best players in the world."

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122600793.html

I believe that too. I think he can be a modern-day Robert Parrish, and a fixture in the All-Star Game for years.

[NCHoya]

gigafan99 said:

nchoya said:

As silly as that seems, it happens to almost every "high upside" player that stays four years. (Aaron Gray?)

I totally disagree on Gray. Gray's falling because he's not that good and there are better 7-foot options in this draft. He thought he'd improve his stock with a big year but instead had the exact same year he had last year and ran into a draft full of centers. He's not getting overanalyzed at all. He's simply hasn't improved.

Whatever, Gray had little to do with my point and that is why I even put a question mark beside his name I could not think of an immediate example. The fact is there is an NBA bias against 4 year players that appear to have "upside" and Roy would be smart to keep this in mind. Thabeet obviously has recognized this and is jumping while he is still of unknown quality.

Meanwhile, the Roy to Yao comparisons are a little much. Roy is likely not going to be an NBA all star and I cannot see him playing more than 20-25 minutes a night in the faster paced NBA game. I love Roy, but let's be fair about his physical skill level. I know Mourning did not average 25 and 10 in the NBA and I am not ready to even admit Roy is in Mourning's zip code in terms of ability. Sure, Roy has a more refined offense, but has anyone noticed he rarely jumps more than 3 inches to block shots or grab a board? That will not fly in the NBA. He will be beaten constantly by 6'10" guys that can get to ball faster and at a higher point than Roy.

I am not trying to hate on Roy, but it is unfair to hold him to such a high standard. He is a very good college player and will be a slightly above average center in the NBA (14 points, 8 rebounds a game) making more money in one year than I will make in a lifetime. From where he came from as a freshman that is terrific!

[ExcitableBoy]

locker said:

Remember this JT3 quote:

"One day, Roy is going to be one of the best players in the world."

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122600793.html

I believe that too. I think he can be a modern-day Robert Parrish, and a fixture in the All-Star Game for years.

We certainly need another perennial Hoya all-star. Our consecutive appearances streak appears to be approaching its twighlight without some newcomers.

[hifigator]

Here is a simple enough question: what kind of monetary background do Jeff and Roy come from? For absolutely no reason I have the feeling that Hibbert had some money and Jeff didn't but I have no idea why I think that.

My point is that if someone comes from a very limited monetary background, then the money from a 10 to 14 pick looks like a lifetime's supply. But with the slotted payouts, to someone of a different background the difference between say being a #3 to #5 next year versus a #10-#14 this year could be enough of an incentive to hold off a year. Sometimes I think that us laypeople just simply can't fathom some of these amounts of money.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

I know jeff has stated that money isn't an issue that will sway him in concerns to the draft. I kind of have had the same assumption that roy had some money, i guess based on the fact that he went to prep, and that jeff didn't since he's from hyattsville which isn't that rich of an area. But i don't know their financial situations for a fact.

[RDF]

Here we go again with speculation on the NBA game and "what it takes" and the question I have based on reading the comments--how many actually WATCH/FOLLOW the NBA? Hibbert's offensive game is more advanced then majority of Centers in NBA now--he's 20 years old and played on highest level of CBB, in the most physical conference. Against the best young American Center prospect in last 15 years, Hibbert more then held his own. Hibbert is going to be a tremendous player in the NBA--the skill level he has alone will be worth having him play--I do think he can improve his lower base/leg strength more--but you can't find many kids with his size/skill--EVER. He can pass, shoot, has moves/counter moves, and great touch. I do think he should return for the simple reason if he were to work on his leg strength/lower base--he would improve on a lot of his weaknesses and with Oden in this year's Draft--he'd be assured of a top 3/5 pick instead of being at lower end of Lottery.

You can run the ball with Roy in game--and Hibbert moves as well as Yao does now--and Yao is an outstanding player due to his skill/size. Teams accomodate your game if you prove to be a force--and there are very few people who will be able to guard Hibbert at next level--his problem/learning curve will be on defensive end. Offensively--he'll get his shot off on anyone and he'll benefit from playing with superior teammates-just as you should if you have game due to better talent on court.

If Roy was from Slovenia and named "Royski Hibbertowski" and people saw the film of him--they'd have him as possible #1 pick--or top 5 this year and even more considering he's only 20 years old. Thing is that people always look at athleticism and ignore skill. The times Roy has trouble are when he's not aggressive/assertive and that is another reason I believe he should return to school--like Jeff they need to learn you can get yours and be unselfish--no reason to limit your game to help others--make the teammates rise to your level.

Rik Smits, Arvedyius Sabonis, Yao, are just some examples of slower footed centers who were elite level players and helped their teams win games/contend for championships or are doing so now. Hibbert has a future and with most bigs not wanting to play down low--his future is even brighter if he masters what he does well--because not many players in the World can bring his size/offensive skill to the game.

[GIGAFAN99]

You know who also wasn't Yao Ming right away? Yao Ming!

13.5 and 8 as a rookie, 17.5 and 9 the next year, 18 and 8 his third year...Yao Ming was not 25 and 10 immediately.

But he started off pretty good and improved. And he was 21 coming in which Roy would be if he stayed. Check in with Roy with a reliable jumper and better conditioning at the end of next year and we might see a Yao-like prospect at the same point in time. Will he get there? Who knows but let's not act like he can't.

As for blocks, well he probably shares that with Yao too. Just tall.

[NCHoya]

Don't get me wrong, I hope everyone is right and I am wrong. I want Roy to dominate the league because he seems like a good guy, he is a Hoya and he undoubtedly works as hard as anyone. I just have a hard time comparing him to the best center in the NBA right now. If he could be the next Rik Smits that would be tremendous.

It really doesn't matter, my opinions are usually wrong - I thought Mike Sweetney was going to be a 16 and 8 guy every night for the Knicks!!

[wildhoya]

since he's from hyattsville which isn't that rich of an area.

ahhhhh... spoken like a true Bethesdan

[RDF]

nchoya said:

Don't get me wrong, I hope everyone is right and I am wrong. I want Roy to dominate the league because he seems like a good guy, he is a Hoya and he undoubtedly works as hard as anyone. I just have a hard time comparing him to the best center in the NBA right now. If he could be the next Rik Smits that would be tremendous.

It really doesn't matter, my opinions are usually wrong - I thought Mike Sweetney was going to be a 16 and 8 guy every night for the Knicks!!

Sweetney could've been a 16 and 8 guy--still could but the problem is he might assume you are talking about helpings of meals and dessert rather then points and rebounds. PUT THE FORK DOWN AND GET IN SHAPE BIG MIKE--you are better then what you've shown.

[hifigator]

RDF wrote:


If Roy was from Slovenia and named "Royski Hibbertowski" and people saw the film of him--they'd have him as possible #1 pick--or top 5 this year and even more considering he's only 20 years old.


That was classic.

[kghoya]

hifigator said:

RDF wrote:


If Roy was from Slovenia and named "Royski Hibbertowski" and people saw the film of him--they'd have him as possible #1 pick--or top 5 this year and even more considering he's only 20 years old.


That was classic.

gotta give credit to jason kapono for that type of comment...

[GIGAFAN99]

kghoya said:

hifigator said:

RDF wrote:


If Roy was from Slovenia and named "Royski Hibbertowski" and people saw the film of him--they'd have him as possible #1 pick--or top 5 this year and even more considering he's only 20 years old.


That was classic.

gotta give credit to jason kapono for that type of comment...

And how dead on was Kapono?

Here's the list of foreign players to go ahead of Kapono:

Darko Milicic (#2)
Mickael Pietrus (#11)
Zarko Cabarkapa (#17)
Aleksander Pavlovic (#19)
Boris Diaw (#21)
Zoran Planinic (#23)
Carlos Delfino (#25)
Ndudi Ebi (#26)
Leandro Barbosa (#28)
Marciej Lampe (#30)

I mean WOW! TEN foreign players ahead of Kapono pushing him to the 2nd pick of the 2nd round.

Don't get me wrong, some of these guys are fine players (Barbosa, Diaw, Pietrus) but so is Jason Kapono. The big sell on all these guys was just about the same: need to get used to playing NBA defense but the skill is there and they can shoot remarkably well for their size. Kaponovich was a lottery lock who would be one of the best long range shooters in the league. Kapono was a marginal prospect you shouldn't waste an early pick on who ended up leading the league in 3-pt shooting.

Agree with RDF on Roy, except Royski and Roy are both too good to slip next year unlike Kapono.

[chep3]

To be fair, Ndudi Ebi is foreign the way that Ben Gordon is foreign. Born overseas but played hs ball here, and would have gone to Arizona. Outside of that, I don't think that Kapono is much better than many of those guys , and worse than Darko, Pietrus, Pvlovic, Diaw, and Barbosa. It's really easy to be a spot up shooter on a team with DWade and Shaq. I'm sure he wouldn't look nearly as good in that role on the Nets or GS. The reason Kapono dropped is all of those guys either have size or athleticism. Kapono has neither.

[williambraskyiii]

Andy Katz chimes in with an update on Roy and Jeff's (among others') prospects with the bevy of one and dones entering...

sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2851358