With Georgetown ahead by a slim four-point margin late last weekend against Fairfield, Hoyas guard Jeremiah Rivers reminded center Roy Hibbert during a timeout that despite the defense’s inevitable collapse on him in the middle, he still had options.
“I told Roy, ‘When you get the ball, I’m cutting. They’re going to double you, and I’ll probably be open,’” said Rivers. “The very next play, I cut and was able to finish and get the basket.”
The move foretold Hoyas head coach John Thompson III’s exact wishes.
“As [Hibbert] goes into his move, we’re telling guys now to start cutting toward the basket,” said Thompson after the game. “If Roy gets deep enough, yeah, shoot, but he’s got three and four people around him.”
Georgetown’s players and coaches have been watching opponents double-team Hibbert ever since he was a freshman. But help defense on the 7-foot-2 senior has reached an absurd level, forcing him more thanever to make passes and avoid forcing shots.
“If you try to play him man-to-man and try to single him there’s no way,” said Fairfield head coach Ed Cooley. “He’s 8 feet 11 inches tall. John does a great job of putting him in position to have success around the basket.”
The Stags’ pressure limited Hibbert to just three field goal attempts and seven points, his lowest totals of the season, while forcing him into a season-high three turnovers. Hibbert also had two assists, but the Hoyas are still searching for a balance between giving him slashers to find for inside buckets and taking advantage of the wide open outside shots that his presence creates.
“Once we throw it in, there’s five guys in the lane,” said Thompson. “That’s where you recruit guys to shoot the ball into the basket.”
