Desmond Hubert Needs to Make Most of Limited Minutes
His career numbers are nothing that scare you.
Over his first three seasons, he has never averaged more than 10 minutes of time on the court.
His highest average scoring output? All of 1.1 points a contest during his sophomore campaign.
Yet, the miniscule numbers don’t tell the story of Desmond Hubert and the value he will bring to a North Carolina team that enters this season with lofty preseason rankings and visions of a Final Four trip come early April.
Sure, Hubert’s offensive production has hardly had opposing coaches quaking when prepping for an upcoming bout with the Tar Heels. And no, they probably won’t be altering their scouting reports about the Cream Ridge, N.J. product much this year when the Heels tip off their regular season next month against North Carolina Central.
Hubert, though, has become the intangibles guy. His value comes not from what you see, but often what you don’t.
Since landing in Chapel Hill in 2011, Hubert has added some 20 pounds to a gangly 6-foot-10 frame that barely eclipsed 200 pounds upon his arrival. One thing he has never had to add, however, is an infectious work ethic and a natural defensive instinct that has made him UNC’s premiere post defender.
Hubert has always possessed a limited skill set offensively (he has never totaled more than 41 points for an entire season), and it’s doubtful there will be a marked improvement in his offensive game over his final five months dressed in baby blue and white.
But Hubert’s defensive intuition breeds a smooth sense of timing which may be his greatest asset on the defensive end. Highlighting his protection of the rim is the ability to measure an opponent’s shot attempt and swat back potential points in the paint. In fact, Hubert comes into his senior season with 15 more shot blocks (49) than converted field goals (34).
And flying under the radar are his quickness and athleticism in defensive transition that most certainly will maximize his limited minutes and potentially up his time in the Heels’ front-court rotation.
A justifiable knock against UNC last season was its ability — or rather inability — to step up and defend ball screens. Hubert’s ability to read the screen and impede an opponent’s path to the rim only enhanced his defensive presence. Couple that work with his sprints from the offensive paint to the defensive middle, and Hubert effectively closed off seemingly open paths to the glass.
No doubt, you can’t win if you can’t score. The capabilities Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks provide offensively make the duo deserving of their starting roles.
But if foul troubles emerge and injuries bite into the Heels’ interior, Hubert provides a welcomed supply of Novocaine to ease the sting. And with James Michael McAdoo’s departure after declaring for last June’s NBA Draft, Hubert’s leadership skills as one of only three seniors on the UNC roster hopefully will pay dividends throughout the rugged ACC slate and NCAA Tournament play.
In the Heels’ quest to wear the crown of a potential conference and national champion, no one is saying Hubert needs to be the guy to up his play in the paint offensively. Instead Hubert needs to be… well… Hubert.
The baskets he does score in all likelihood won’t be the ones that help UNC survive down the line in its postseason journey.
It’s the ones he may have a hand in turning away, though, that could play a large part in helping his team advance.