College Sports Madness Names Naji Hibbert Big South Player of the Week
December 02, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Hibbert (Baltimore, Md. / Dematha Catholic / Texas A&M) was at his best under the bright lights of Las Vegas, leading Gardner-Webb to the 2013 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational Upper Division crown with two wins at Orleans Arena.
He led Gardner-Webb in scoring in all three games last week, averaging 17.0 points per outing, but was at his best in the desert. In wins over IUPUI and Morehead State, Hibbert averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting at a 53.8 percent rate from the floor (14-of-26) and from 3-point range (7-of-13). The 6-foot-5, 190-pounder also made 75.0 percent from the free throw stripe in Las Vegas.
In the title game win over a Morehead State team that sported a sparkling, 6-2 record, Hibbert poured in a career-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, made 4-of-8 from downtown and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. He scored 15 in the win over IUPUI, sparked by 3-of-5 shooting from deep, and dished off three assists.
For the season, Hibbert has been a standout for Gardner-Webb, averaging a team-high 15.3 points and connecting on 15-of-36 from 3-point range (41.7 percent). Hibbert has also been unselfish, dishing off 2.1 assists per game. His length has been bothersome for opposing guards on the perimeter, with 1.7 steals per game and three blocked shots - which both rank second on the team through eight games.
After missing most of the season opener at Xavier and all of the Furman game with an injury, a healthy Hibbert has returned to average 17.2 points in six starts - leading Gardner-Webb to a 4-2 mark in those games.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (4-4) host Wofford at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, December 4 in Paul Porter Arena in their first home game since November 19. The game will air live on the Big South Network (bigsouthsports.com) and WGWG-FM (88.3 / wgwg.org). Fabian Fuentes will provide the call.
