Hibbert proves four-year players can shine

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ORLANDO, Fla.The NBA for years has been about potential.

Look at the No. 1 pick in last June's NBA draft.

Cleveland rookie Kyrie Irving of Duke came into the NBA with a whopping - OK, not so whopping - 11 games under his belt.

And while Irving has certainly had a relatively smooth adjustment to the NBA, more often than not, it takes players time to develop.

But what about the four-year guys?

Often they find themselves pegged as productive college players with little potential to improve.

However, players such as Roy Hibbert are out to prove that theory wrong.

Hibbert, a fourth-year center named to his first all-star team, is an example of a four-year college player who continues to improve. After averaging 7.1 points as a rookie, Hibbert has increased his scoring every season.

He hits the all-star break averaging 13.8 points and a career-high 9.6 rebounds while shooting 51.2 percent from the field - that's also a career high.

Hibbert, with a camera in hand to tape all of the all-star festivities this weekend, takes pride in being a four-year guy who is recognized as one of the game's best players - something that doesn't happen too often in this day and age of the NBA.

"I'm just so proud I'm going to work hardand show that guys that go to school for four years can make an impact in this league," said Hibbert, who played four years at Georgetown. "Look at the story of (former Syracuse swingman) Wesley Johnson and the most famous one right now, (Harvard's) Jeremy Lin, guys that go to school for four years can go out there and have an impact on the game."

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