A Georgetown basketball star has been the prize of a Draft Day trade.  The Hoyas’ beloved big man Roy Hibbert, who was pegged to fall somewhere in the early 20’s in the draft, worked his way up to the 17th spot where he was drafted by the Toronto Raptors.

But like Georgetown teammate Jeff Green, who was selected by the Celtics last year only to be traded immediately to Seattle, Hibbert had no chance to imagine a future north of the border before talks of a trade to the Indiana Pacers. Hibbert will join Kansas star Brandon Rush, who was traded to the Pacers via the Portland Trailblazers on Draft Day.

It’s difficult to imagine a long, successful career in the NBA for Hibbert.  His size, passing and solid all-around fundamentals might make him effective, but his athleticism (read: rebounding) is beyond suspect at this point.  Expect to see Big Roy get his two-step hook shot thrown back in his face a few times before he figures out the NBA’s bigger, faster style.

After the jump, Patrick Ewing Jr.’s chances.

Patrick Ewing Jr. also found himself on the draft board on Thursday night.  Georgetown’s Crown Prince was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round (43rd overall).  Ewing will join Jason Thompson of Rider and Sean Singletary of the University of Virginia as the Kings’ Draft Day pick-ups.

Unlike Hibbert, there are absolutely no questions about Ewing’s athleticism.  In fact, he may be one of the most athletic players in the entire draft.  However, the sheer energy and athleticism that made him such a valuable asset off the bench may not be enough at the next level. As long as Ewing continues to develop, though, he has the name and the heart to make a splash in the League.

-Anthony Francavilla, Sports Editor

This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 3:18 pm and is filed under Basketball, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.