Hoyas' Decisions Expected Today Hibbert Reportedly Will Return for Senior Year- Rumor

oldirtyku · May 23, 2007

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201624.html?sub=AR

Hoyas' Decisions Expected Today Hibbert Reportedly Will Return for Senior Year

By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007; Page E01

Georgetown juniors Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert will announce whether they will remain in the NBA draft at a news conference this afternoon, and according to a source with knowledge of the situation, Hibbert will be returning to the Hoyas for his senior season.

The return of the 7-foot-2 Hibbert is a boost for a program that is coming off its first Final Four appearance since 1985. He and Green helped lead the Hoyas to a sweep of the Big East regular season and tournament titles and a 30-7 overall record, the fourth 30-win season in school history.

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No mention of Jeff Green... but GREAT NEWS REGARDLESS for Hoyas fans, assuming its true.

Great move for Roy. I think he could use another year... He needs to get into better shape and work on his game...

theticket_22 · May 23, 2007

would be a great decision

oldirtyku · May 23, 2007

Man… I would be very excited if either 1 of them stays...

I am confused by the timing of this conference thou. I thought both wanted to do the NBA camps and work outs before making deciding... Also, it would be strange to have a press conference on campus to say “Hey I am signing with an agent and staying in the draft”. Has anyone ever had a press conference to say they were signing with an agent?

Another thing would be weird to have a conference with 1 saying they staying and the other leaving…

It might just be wishful thinking but I am beginning to think they are both coming back…

theticket_22 · May 23, 2007

such a loaded draft this year, would be a terrible decision for either of them to go...both could raise their stock roughly 5-10 spots next year.

oldirtyku · May 23, 2007

Full article... It got cut off earlier...

Hoyas' Decisions Expected Today
Hibbert Reportedly Will Return for Senior Year

By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007; Page E01

Georgetown juniors Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert will announce whether they will remain in the NBA draft at a news conference this afternoon, and according to a source with knowledge of the situation, Hibbert will be returning to the Hoyas for his senior season.

The return of the 7-foot-2 Hibbert is a boost for a program that is coming off its first Final Four appearance since 1985. He and Green helped lead the Hoyas to a sweep of the Big East regular season and tournament titles and a 30-7 overall record, the fourth 30-win season in school history.

Roy Hibbert will come back to Georgetown next year according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

When Hibbert and Green submitted their names for the draft in mid-April, both players left open the possibility of returning to Georgetown for a final season. Neither player hired an agent at the time, and both players said they were still enrolled in classes and were on track to graduate on time.

Underclassmen have until June 18 to withdraw from the draft, which will be held June 28 in New York. The draft lottery was held last night, with the Portland Trail Blazers winning the top pick.

Most mock drafts have projected Green and Hibbert as lottery picks, forecasting Green to go between the seventh and 14th picks, and Hibbert between the fifth and 10th picks.

Hibbert has steadily improved each season since coming to Georgetown from nearby Georgetown Prep and could vault his way to the top of the 2008 draft with another season of similar development in college. Green, on the other hand, is considered to be the more NBA-ready player, and his stock might be at its peak now after a superlative junior season.

The 6-9 Green led the Hoyas in scoring (14.3 points) and was second in rebounds (6.4) and assists (3.2). He was named the Big East player of the year, as well as the most outstanding player of the Big East tournament and the NCAA East Region. He made three game-winning shots, two of them in the postseason, but scored just nine points on five shot attempts in the Hoyas' national semifinal loss to Ohio State.

Hibbert was second on the team in scoring (12.9 points), led the Hoyas in rebounding (6.9) and blocked shots (2.4), and was a unanimous choice for first team all-Big East. He had a terrific NCAA tournament, averaging a double-double (14.2 points and 10.4 rebounds), and against the likely top pick in the draft, Ohio State freshman Greg Oden, Hibbert had 19 points and six rebounds.

Last month, Green said there was a 70 percent chance that he would return to the Hoyas.

"School is only going to be here four years," Green said. "The NBA will be there forever. You can't just give up that. That's a big thought in this process."

Hibbert put his odds of returning at 50-50, and said his projected draft position would be a factor in the decision. There is a glut of talented big men in this year's draft: Oden, Florida's Al Horford and Joakim Noah, China's Yi Jianlian and Washington's Spencer Hawes.

"Do I want to go eight through 14, or do I want to go top three next year?" Hibbert said in April.

"That does play a factor in my decision. . . . I wouldn't want to be at the end of a bench on an NBA team, not being able to develop and show what I can do, so another year here would be great, obviously.

"But I'm just going to see if Coach thinks I'm ready. I would love to come back and get a national championship banner in here. We were close this year, but next year could be great."

Georgetown's top nine players are eligible to return next season, and the Hoyas will add two of the top guard prospects in the country: Austin Freeman, the All-Met player of the year from DeMatha, and Chris Wright, a three-time All-Met from St. John's.

Should Green return as well, the Hoyas could open the season as the top-ranked team in the country.

goodcall · May 23, 2007

oldirtyku said:
Should Green return as well, the Hoyas could open the season as the top-ranked team in the country.

Do you think they would?

It's tough to think UNC wouldn't be #1 imo, even with losing Wright. The head-to-head meeting in the tourney might give G-Town the nod though.

If both Hibbert and Green return, they certainly won't be any lower than #2.

Katz is dreaming with his #1 going to Memphis

oldirtyku · May 23, 2007

goodcall said:
Do you think they would?

It's tough to think UNC wouldn't be #1 imo, even with losing Wright. The head-to-head meeting in the tourney might give G-Town the nod though.

If both Hibbert and Green return, they certainly won't be any lower than #2.

Katz is dreaming with his #1 going to Memphis

I think if they both come back they should be #<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

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The way I look at it is that UNC loses Wright while Gtown brings back the same team... Wright was a great player and will be a large loss… Gtown adds all an American backcourt to there rotation... There guard play was there weakness last year so adding <st1:NumConv6p0 sch="1" val="2">2</st1:NumConv6p0> all Americans will help out a bunch... <o

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Who knows...

oldirtyku · May 23, 2007

So Jeff will enter the draft and Roy will stay in school. Hoyas look to be a solid team next year. Would have been nice if both had stayed...

throwback420 · May 23, 2007

I hope Green stays if so they will win it all

DarkStar · May 24, 2007

I still think theres a chance Green stays.:thumbsup:

MrCleo · Jun 4, 2007

Georgetown junior and Big East player of the year Jeff Green made a rather stunning statement: he hasn't made up his mind that he's staying in the NBA draft.

"I haven't made it final that I'm coming out yet, and I'm still going to take some time to make a decision," Green told ESPN.com.

"I haven't signed with an agent yet and there's still a chance [to go back to the Hoyas]," Green said. "It just depends on how my workouts go. I just have to keep working hard and hopefully get the commitment that a team wants to draft me. If I don't get that commitment that a team is willing to take me in the lottery, then that will sway my decision to come back."

Green is projected to be a lottery pick with interest from Boston at No. 5 on down.

The reason this is newsworthy is that it was just last Wednesday, Green announced he was staying in the draft at a news conference where teammate Roy Hibbert said he would come back for his senior season.

Now, more than a week later, the headline on the Georgetown Web site still says: "Jeff Green to forego senior season for NBA, Roy Hibbert to stay at Georgetown."

The press release has a quote from Green that states, "I haven't hired an agent yet, but we are starting that process now. I love Georgetown, my friends, my team, coaches & but after a lot of examination I've come to the conclusion that this is what's best for me. I intend to get my degree eventually, but right now it's the NBA."

Green said Thursday that the only thing he was saying last week was, "I was keeping my name in the draft." And he qualified that by saying as in last week. As of this week, he still hasn't made up his mind on whether he's staying in the draft past the June 18 withdrawal date.

Multiple NBA teams told ESPN.com Thursday that they had heard the same thing about Green. They said Georgetown coach John Thompson III, not an agent, was the contact person for Green. And Green will be conducting a workout in Washington, D.C. next week after he returns from the physical-only portion of the pre-draft camp.

Green said his family will be able to handle the expenses for any workouts in NBA cities prior to June 18. He will travel to Boston for a workout with Florida's Corey Brewer and Florida State's Al Thornton on June 7.

If Green were to return to the Hoyas, they would be the Big East favorites and likely the favorite, along with Memphis, to win the national title. If he were to come back, then the Hoyas would return their top nine scorers from last year's Final Four team. The Hoyas brought in a highly rated recruiting class too.

"Whether or not I come back, the team didn't always revolve around me," Green said. "Jonathan Wallace hit the big shot against North Carolina."

Still, Green said that while he has improved as a shooter and passer in the past three seasons, he still has work to do. But if he does choose to stay in the draft, he's content with reaching the Final Four once.

"And if I do go back, then our team has a chance to make it to that point again," Green said.

Is that a tease or is it reality? Green won't say, but the fact that he's entertaining a return should have Hoya fans salivating at the prospect of a possible national title in 2008. Until Green has to make a final decision on June 18, it's a realistic possibility.