Monday, January 21, 2013
Desmond Hubert's defensive impact
By Joe Kaiser
Desmond Hubert averaged 0.7 points as a freshman last season and is only scoring 1.4 points a game as a sophomore in 2012-13, but Thad Williamson of InsideCarolina.com writes that there are other more meaningful statistics when it comes to Hubert's impact on the game.
Take North Carolina's 10-point win over Maryland on Saturday, for example.
"Hubert’s inspired early play was a critical factor in Carolina’s fast start (against the Terrapins), and set in motion a virtuous circle of events from a Tar Heel perspective that allowed the lead to snowball up to 22 points by halftime," Williamson writes. "Numbers crunched by Inside Carolina stats guru Adrian Atkinson help quantify Hubert’s overall contribution: Carolina allowed just 14 points in the 14-plus minutes (26 Terrapin possessions) Hubert was on the court, and the Tar Heels allowed nearly 60 percent more points per possession when Hubert was not in the game."
Hubert's going to have to improve offensively to ever become more of a regular in UNC's rotation, but as the statistics above indicate his ability to shut down opposing big men gives him an important role on this Tar Heels team nevertheless.
