Pacers' big man works with Bill Walton

By Mike Wells, Indy Star, Posted: August 25, 2010

Roy Hibbert's eyes lit up like a 5-year-old on Christmas morning when
Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird approached him last spring with an
idea for the offseason.
 
Bird asked the Pacers center if he wanted some help, and tossed out the
names of three potential teachers: Bill Russell, Bill Walton or Kevin
McHale. All three are Hall of Fame big men.

"He said it would probably be one of those three guys. I just had to
give him my summer schedule so he could set it up with one of them," Hibbert
said. "Who wouldn't want to work with those guys?"

Bird lined up Walton, a former teammate with the Boston Celtics, and he
has spent part of the summer working with Hibbert at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"It's an honor for me to work with such a fine young man, such an
outstanding talent with such an outstanding package," Walton said. "He
has tremendous potential. We are working on his total game. Summertime is
when the championships are won. Physical fitness and skill development."
The emphasis has been on defense.

"You win in this league when you dominate the paint," Walton said.
Since Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal left, the Pacers have had trouble
defending near the basket.

"We're trying to build on the great foundation Roy has and what he means
to the Pacers' foundation," Walton said. "Execution of the fundamentals;
denying guard penetration, rebounding and shot blocking."

The Pacers' inability to stop dribble penetration has forced Hibbert to
help, which often has led to collisions and foul trouble.
Walton devised a drill geared to help Hibbert learn to slide over,
defend the rim, but not foul as a guard drove the lane at full speed.
"I've got to be able to alter or block the shot and get the rebound,"
Hibbert said. "Mr. Walton told me I've got an offensive game, but I need
to be able to dominate the paint and keep guys out of there."
Hibbert embraced the workouts. Walton said he wants to continue until
Bird "dismisses me."

He has added to them, too. Hibbert took up boxing last month.
He starts his day with 90 minutes of weight training, cardio work and
on-court basketball drills at the fieldhouse. After lunch, he drives to
Fortville, Ind., for an intense 90-minute cardio workout.

"Those guys have been kicking my butt," Hibbert said. "It's a lot of
kickboxing and normal boxing. My conditioning is going to be on point
next season."

Hibbert, who acknowledged he wore down last season, has trimmed his body
fat to 11.3 percent and wants to open camp at 10 percent.
The goal is to make sure Pacers coach Jim O'Brien has no choice but to
feed the third-year big man in the post.

"He's an outstanding student and he's a very enthusiastic worker,"
Walton said. "He's doing his job and now I need to do mine. The best part of
his game right now is his offensive skills in terms of shooting and passing.
We'll build on the other areas."