By Dylan Butler
But his background? That's up to debate. You see, Hibbert was born in Queens – Flushing to be exact. But his family moved to Adelphi, Md., when he was 2 years old. “I always say I'm from Queens, but no one believes me,” Hibbert said. Count teammate Jessie Sapp as part of the opposition. “There's a New York rule, if you don't stay here for more than five years you're not a resident,” said the junior guard from Harlem. “But nah, he was born here. He gets a little pass.”Perhaps it's because Hibbert is a big reason, a really big reason why the Hoyas are 27-5, won the Big East regular season title and advanced to the Big East tournament final, before losing to Pittsburgh Saturday night at MSG. Hibbert, who leads the Hoyas in scoring (13.6 points per game) and rebounds (6.5 per game), was one of four unanimous selections to the All-Big East first team. Hibbert was also the lone player on this year's team to be named to the first team last year, as well. Hibbert and Sapp were both named to the Big East all-tournament team. Not bad for a couple of New York natives, although Sapp pokes fun at Hibbert's credentials. “He didn't really get the growing up part of New York City,” Sapp joked. “He didn't really come into the hard city toughness. He was 2 years old. He was in school playing in the sandbox with some other kids.”After being held scoreless for the first time since his sophomore year, Hibbert erupted for 25 points and 13 rebounds en route to ninth-ranked Georgetown's 72-55 pasting of West Virginia in the Big East tournament semifinals Friday night.”The big fella is the hub, he's the focal point,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “We don't want, and he will not have, more days like yesterday.”Hibbert appeared to take his frustrations out on West Virginia in a dominant performance.”Watch the game. It spoke for itself,” Patrick Ewing Jr. said. “You can tell he was focused from warm-ups. He came out and you can see it in his eyes. He was in the zone and he wasn't going to let us lose tonight.”When Hibbert scored a layup while drawing a foul with 5:05 left in the second half, the center let out a roar just barely drowned out by the sound of 19,562 screaming fans at Madison Square Garden. “I'm a monster,” the senior forward bellowed. “Be afraid of me.”Spoken like a true New Yorker. Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at news@TimesLedger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
