Herbert Hill, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
The 6-foot-10 Hill was a former Utah Jazz draft pick that spent a year with the Philadelphia 76ers, although never played because of an injury. He averaged a modest 5.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 11 NBA D-League games with the Bakersfield Jam in 2007-08, but upped those averages to 17.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in a five-game stint with the Tulsa 66ers when given significant minutes. Last year, he wrapped up a season with the Incheon Elephants in the Korean Basketball League where he posted numbers of 21.8 points, 11 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 38 minutes per game.The former Providence big man hasn’t shown much range, but performs very well inside the paint, with a nice arsenal of shots from within 10 feet. He has a great touch around the basket and should put up impressive numbers here in the PBA. Hill should provide a nice presence on the defensive end as well, but offense is likely where he’ll shine.
The one concern about Hill is his free throw shooting, making just 42.1% of his attempts in 16 games in the D-League. He’s shown improvement of late, hitting 68.1% of his free throws in Incheon. That’s not so bad, though it will probably garner some attention if his struggles resurface.
Hill will be in stepping into a thankless job as the import of Ginebra, the most popular team in the league. Sure, a huge chunk of the fans will be squarely behind him and his team… as long as they keep winning. There will be a lot of pressure on him to lead the team to a deep run this conference, and it will be interesting to see if he can deliver.
Robert Dozier, Alaska Aces
The 6-foot-9 Dozier’s claim to fame was a nice run with the Memphis Tigers in the NCAA where he and his teammates Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and Joey Dorsey made it to the national championship game where they fell to Kansas Jayhawks led by Mario Chalmers. Dozier had a pretty solid collegiate career, wrapping up his final season averaging 12.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks.He was drafted by the Miami Heat with the very last pick of the 2009 NBA draft, but couldn’t crack the lineup. After failing to make it to the NBA, Dozier spent a couple of productive seasons in Europe. He bulked up and earned himself a spot back on the Heat’s Summer League team and an invite to training camp last year.
He’s described as long, athletic, mobile and with the ability to defend multiple positions — all the tools necessary to be a dominant defensive player in the PBA. He has a versatile offensive skill set as well, showing the ability to stretch the floor for his team and a nice first step that gives opposing bigs trouble. In his final year at Memphis, he was comfortable shooting from beyond the arc, taking 1.5 attempts from three per game while making about 38% of them.
He’ll be a nice addition to the Aces. Dozier’s versatility will be let him fit in nicely whether it’s beside or in place of Alaska center Sonny Thoss. His length and athleticism will make him a tough cover for locals and some of the bigger imports and it will be interesting how far he can take the fast-rising Aces this conference.
Eric Dawson, Meralco Bolts
The Bolts’ reinforcement Dawson will be very interesting to follow. He didn’t have a high-profile college basketball stint like some other imports — Dawson played four years of Division II basketball for little-known Midwestern State University. But he has played several years with the San Antonio Spurs’ D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros, and has used that opportunity to really, well, develop.He played 81 games with the Toros through five seasons and has seen his numbers rise almost every year. And that’s not merely an effect of increased minutes. His production per-minute has risen almost across the board. From an average of 10.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks in 24.5 minutes in the 2008-09 season, his first year with a significant number of games, Dawson has raised those numbers up to 17.2, 10.6, 2.3, 1.2 and 1.6 in 29 minutes per game. He was named the D-League’s Impact Player of the Year and was actually called up to play four games for the Spurs after Tiago Splitter went down with an injury last season.
The lengthy, 6-9 Dawson, who has a 7-6 wingspan, should be a great two-way player for Meralco who could be one of the standout performers this conference. More than the numbers, though, he’s a player who knows how to win, having led teams in Japan and South Korea to championships and having spent a little time within the very impressive Spurs organization.
Dawson’s already impressed his coach, Ryan Gregorio. But the Bolts will face an uphill battle in trying to become contenders so soon after starting a rebuilding process — trading cornerstone Sol Mercado for a crop of promising young players and a draft pick. He’ll have to step up in a big way, and it will be interesting to see if Dawson is up to the task.
