We obviously won’t know how good Hibbert will be on the court this year, but it is great to see him working hard and being a good guy. This is absolutely what helps builds a fanbase. It of course helps that he is a promising talent too! Even if he just slightly improves from last year, we’ll take that package any day, but the thought of him taking a big step forward is obviously fantastic.

I was just looking at photos of him from Georgetown, and he looks like a different person now. He just looks 100% more fit.

Don’t know about the handing off clumsily part, but the description you wrote regarding Roy was something he was instructed to do at Georgetown. The centers on offense would often have their backs to the basket (sometimes 10 or more feet away from the hoop) and wait on cutters to receive the ball through handoffs or bounce passes. Its part of the Princeton style offense and Greg Monroe would do the same thing while he was at GU. It can at times be ineffective, especially if a player holds onto the rock too long. But it can also be very effective as long as his teammates are constantly moving and/or cutting to the hole. Unfortunately for Roy he is on an NBA team where teammates don’t cut…..they simply stand beyond the three-point line and wait on the ball. But my point is Hibbert coming into the NBA was already well instructed for a big man on how to be effective on offense without scoring (in other words being a distributor from the low post or the high post). Most Pacers fans don’t seem to have a problem with him on that regard.

Also Walton pointed out that Roy doesn’t need much work on the offensive side of the ball. He thinks highly of his ability to score and pass. Much more so than you it appears since you seem to think Walton needs to teach Roy how to shoot a hook shot with either hand when most folks who pay attention understand Roy can already do that. And Roy, right now, is one of the very best passing big men in the league. The amount of assists he gets in his still limited minutes bear that out. Its defense, rebounding and stamina that has always been Roy’s main weaknesses. And anything Walton can teach Roy in those areas is a godsend. Walton is the perfect mentor for Roy. I originally wanted McHale only because I never thought Walton would be a possibility.

Last of all I loved McHale’s game but I never would have used the adjective “quickness” to describe his play.