Waxing On The Car Wash: Hibbert

Roy Hibbert of the Indianapolis Pacers commands attention when he enters the room.

He stands 7 feet, 2 inches tall — sorry, Jay Crawford, we see the ladder in the picture above — and weighs 278 pounds. In the sixth grade, Hibbert grew from 6’2 to 6’6.

The third-year pro came to ESPN for the “Car Wash” on June 1, which was the day after Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

While here, the longtime ESPN fan laid the groundwork for what he hopes will be an analyst’s job after his NBA career ends.

Roy had plenty of fodder to work with on a busy day in the NBA during his visit.

The first stop of the day was an interview on First Take playing the analyst role and breaking down Game 1 of the Mavericks-Heat.

Roy also stuck around for a second segment on the show, rating the top plays of the postseason.

He joined Crawford, Skip Bayless and Chris Broussard on the small couch for the debate.

He enjoyed this laidback segment and said it was his favorite interview of the day.

At the end of the show, he joined Crawford, Bayless, Julie Foudy and Reischea Canidate as they joked about feeling short standing next to him.

Throughout the Car Wash, Roy noticed locations around the campus where This Is Sportscenter commercials were filmed.

He is a huge fan of ESPN. The former Georgetown star remembers spending one day watching all of the This Is SportsCenter commercials on YouTube.

He said: “I seriously enjoyed everything meeting all the people on the shows. My favorite part was the lemonade and ice set up. That was where the Arnold Palmer commercial was. That’s their actual café where they shot the commercial.”

After stops on The Scott Van Pelt Show, Sportscenter.com and a local ESPN Radio affiliate, our day was almost over.

Around 3 p.m. ET, we received news that Shaquille O’Neal was planning to retire.

The Talent Producer department began compiling a list of potential guests to join the ESPN TV shows for this breaking news. Roy also gave his input on former teammates of Shaq’s that would make great guests.

The majority of the SportsCenter interview was on Shaq and his career. Roy gave insight on playing against him and how Shaq changed the game.

Afterward, Roy said in an e-mail: “One day I want to be an ESPN analyst. I would love to intern there at some point.”

Roy did a great job analyzing the playoffs throughout the day, even though he believed the Heat would win the title.

Roy remained at Georgetown University all four years. In the 2008 NBA draft, he was selected 17th overall by the Toronto Raptors. He was quickly traded to the Indiana Pacers in a deal involving Jermaine O’Neal, and has played all three of his NBA seasons with the Pacers.

Does he have any regrets not entering the NBA sooner?

Roy replied: “Nope, I enjoyed all four years at Gtown. I wouldn’t give up that extra year for anything. I’m in a good organization and a good situation. “

I also asked Roy how worried he would he be if he was entering the draft this summer. There’s a threat of an NBA lockout.

He said: “If I were an upper classman and had a chance to go in the top 20, I would go. If I wasn’t sure where I would go in the draft, I would stay an extra year.”

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