# Get on the Hasheem Thabeet bandwagon



## Waukee (Jul 14, 2006)

http://nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/hasheemthabeet.html



> Said one scout, “He’s getting better every day. If he gets eligible, he’s one year and out at UConn and I’m calling it right now, he’s a top 10 pick.”


 Interesting...i've been hearing the same thing about every giant African player for the last few years.


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## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

Waukee said:


> http://nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/hasheemthabeet.html
> 
> 
> 
> Interesting...i've been hearing the same thing about every giant African player for the last few years.




And most have turned out well.... (self explanatory)


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

He was born in 1990?

_Man_, do I feel old.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

1990? Bull****.

A 16 year old man at 7-3, how crazy.


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## jsm27 (Jan 9, 2003)

The birthdate listed must just be a place filler. There are concerns he may be as old as 22. He must be at least 17 or 18, a typical age for a freshman. I doubt he is really 16.


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## adarsh1 (May 28, 2003)

I am 16...and I'm 5'6


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## Waukee (Jul 14, 2006)

There's an 8'1" teenager in the Sudan so it's not that unbelieveable to me that he's this big at this age.


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## Bulls rock your socks (Jun 29, 2006)

yea dude i feel like 1990 was like just a couple years ago lol. that weirdd


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## lw32 (May 24, 2003)

Doubtful he's 16. How on earth does he qualify for university at 16? He'd need to be doing some serious bookwork, and not playing much basketball.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

7 years since I stepped on a college campus. Ha.


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## bruno34115 (Apr 14, 2003)

He's obviously not 16. They just chose a default birthdate (1/1/90) because they don't know his real one. Im not hoping on his bandwagon yet, I've never seen him play.


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## pmac34 (Feb 10, 2006)

^also his overall scouting score is 0! gotcha haha


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## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

bruno34115 said:


> He's obviously not 16. They just chose a default birthdate (1/1/90) because they don't know his real one. Im not hoping on his bandwagon yet, I've never seen him play.





Yes, many other kids (especially high schoolers) whose birthdays nbadraft.net dont know are all stated as 1/1/1990.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

Hold the NBA talk



> "I can listen to all that (NBA) stuff, but then I have to go to work here," Thabeet said after a pickup game with his new UConn teammates at Gampel Pavilion. "If it all comes, it will all come later, but right now we're just facing what I'm going to face (this year). I don't think it's (the NBA talk) going to help me. They say I could be an NBA star ... I really don't need to worry about that."
> 
> Remarkably, Thabeet has not become caught up in his new celebrity. He realizes he is a long way from a head-to-head battle with Shaquille O'Neal.
> 
> "I'm just learning the game," Thabeet said. "I've played organized basketball for four years right now, so I'm still learning the game. I know I can play defense, but right now, we're trying to get the offensive part together too. Every day I learn some new stuff. I know the competition is going to be there."





> "Hasheem surprised me," freshman forward Stanley Robinson said. "Oh, my God, he's so big, it's insane. On top of that, he's never been in a weight room, so I'm just waiting to see what that's going to be like. And, I thought my hands were big, but his hands are huge.


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## o.iatlhawksfan (Mar 3, 2006)

I thought I was a tall 15 year old ( also born in 1990) at 6'1 but he make's me look like a baby.


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## bruno34115 (Apr 14, 2003)

o.iatlhawksfan said:


> I thought I was a tall 15 year old ( also born in 1990) at 6'1 but he make's me look like a baby.


He's not f'n born in '90. He is an incoming college freshman. It is estimated he is between 18 and 20 years old not 15/16.


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## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

bruno34115 said:


> He's not f'n born in '90. He is an incoming college freshman. It is estimated he is between 18 and 20 years old not 15/16.




Even if he is currently 18 to 20 years old, he was just 15/16 a few years ago and i pretty sure that he was around 6'10 to 7'0 by that time which is still pretty scary.


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## bruno34115 (Apr 14, 2003)

crazyfan said:


> Even if he is currently 18 to 20 years old, he was just 15/16 a few years ago and i pretty sure that he was around 6'10 to 7'0 by that time which is still pretty scary.


No different than any other 7 foot high school prospects.


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## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

bruno34115 said:


> No different than any other 7 foot high school prospects.




Yes its not but any 7 footer regardless of age is scary isnt it?


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## Like A Breath (Jun 16, 2003)

UConn has led the nation in blocked shots 4 years in a row with a different leading shotblocker 3 of those 4 years. That's pretty nuts, Calhoun knows how to find and develop big men.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Hasheem Thabeet looked beaten. Curtis Kelly got the ball in the paint, hesitated, drove right and created what appeared to be a clean look at the basket. But with Kelly leaning in, Thabeet shuffled his feet and backpedaled. Without jumping, he reached back with his left hand and blocked Kelly's shot, sending the ball straight down to the court and starting a break in the other direction.

"He's just unique," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said a few days later. "He's going to change games."

<table align="right" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table style="clear: left; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: rgb(230, 228, 225);" align="right" width="10%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center">*ADVERTISEMENT*</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"><script language=\"JavaScript\" src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/trb.courant/sports;ptype=s;rg=ur;ref=draftexpresscom;sz=300x250;tile=2;ord=12755386" type="text/javascript"></script><iframe src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/N2724.Centro.com/B1903451.29;sz=300x250;ord=2984612?" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" bordercolor="#000000" frameborder="0" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300"> <SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N2724.Centro.com/B1903451.29;abr=!ie;sz=300x250;ord=2984612?"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N2724.Centro.com/B1903451.29;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=300x250;ord=2984612?"> <IMG SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N2724.Centro.com/B1903451.29;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=300x250;ord=2984612?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=300 HEIGHT=250 ALT="Click Here"></A> </NOSCRIPT> </iframe> <noscript></noscript>
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 
<table style="clear: left; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: rgb(230, 228, 225);" align="right" width="10%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center">*SPONSORED LINKS*</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td> <!-- quigo adsonar content ads begin--> <iframe src="http://www.courant.com/central/javascript/quigo/quigo-adsonar.html?pid=447758&ps=1017716&width=300&height=250" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300"></iframe> <!-- quigo adsonar content ads end--> </td></tr></tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> This was only a late-night pickup game at Gampel Pavilion last week, a couple of days after the eight UConn freshmen had arrived on campus. It is a time to get acclimated, a time to grow individually and collectively before the work begins in earnest. It's a time to measure the balance between raw ability and needed growth, a time for first impressions.

"He's just a beast," guard Jerome Dyson said.

Thabeet is 7 feet 3. He is 268 pounds with a well-proportioned body. He's a decent athlete with an innate ability to defend and block shots. He has been playing organized basketball for four years, so he is further behind on the learning curve than some of his new teammates. There's ample reason to believe he'll be somewhat of a project, but he's among the biggest, if not the biggest, player in UConn history.

"In probably two years, he'll be maybe the most [influential] player in all of college basketball," Calhoun said. "Give him two years."

In the meantime, no matter the pace of his progression, Thabeet will remain unique for reasons beyond the court.

Originally from Tanzania, Thabeet speaks three languages: English, Swahili and a little French. He hopes to major in linguistics at UConn, a handful of schools that began to take notice when Thabeet burst onto the recruiting scene as a senior at Cypress Community Christian School in Houston, where he spent two years. Now he's at UConn, still in relative disbelief.

"Four or five months ago," Thabeet said, "no one knew me like now."

Four years ago, his involvement in basketball consisted only of an occasional walk to a court near his home in Tanzania. He was 15, about 6-8. He would watch older players compete for local clubs. One day, a coach approached him and asked why he didn't play. Thabeet explained he was scared to play against adults and, besides, he had no equipment.

Given sneakers and proper attire, Thabeet stepped to the free-throw line, made his first shot and thought to himself, "Yeah, I can do this." A year later, he was sending letters to various colleges in the United States - none like UConn.

"Those coaches who got me started, they told me you can go play basketball in the States," Thabeet said. "I went to the Internet, sent e-mails to small colleges. Small, very small, like some of them might not exist anymore."

He kept his goal in mind even through heartbreak. Just when Thabeet, who has no family in the U.S., was working toward his move to Houston, his father died unexpectedly in April 2004. His father, Thabit Manka, was a diabetic, though Thabeet said he died from an unrelated acid digestive problem.

"That made me start finding any way to get out," Thabeet said. "I know nobody is going to be able to help my mom but me. Right now, she doesn't have a job. ... Now I play for her and my father."

Thabeet hopes his mother, Ruki, can move to the United States in the next year or so.

Flashes of greatness suggest he might have a professional career ahead of him. The first time a member of the UConn staff went to see him was during his junior year, Thabeet said, and he was ejected for nearly retaliating after being hit by an opposing player. Thabeet made a real name for himself as a senior and Calhoun was on hand to see him have 26 points, 22 rebounds and six blocks at the Kingwood Classic in April.

"I did some amazing things," said Thabeet, who continued his strong play at the IS8 camp in New York.

Thabeet committed to UConn in early June, a few months after visiting campus for a Senior Day game against Louisville, when UConn clinched a tie of the Big East regular season title.

The only school interested during his junior season was San Jacinta Junior College, Thabeet said. Now, Internet rumors suggest he could be an NBA draft pick in a year or two, but that might be getting a little bit ahead of things. Even Thabeet acknowledges that.

"I'm learning the game," he said. "I know I can play defense. I'm trying to get the offensive together. ... I can listen to that, but I have to go to work. If that will come, that will come. Right now, I'm just facing what I'm going to face. I don't think it's going to help me. They say I'm an NBA star. I don't need to work, I just need to go over there and play. But I need to work. ... I'm good right now, but not where I want to be."

Thabeet could be the centerpiece for UConn's hope to continue its inside dominance. The Huskies have led the nation in blocks five years in a row. Calhoun already has visions of Thabeet, at the very least, consistently drawing double-teams and opening up the court for a team loaded with talented guards.

"Someone said to describe him and I said he's a 6-foot-1 kid," Calhoun said. "There's nothing awkward about him. He's a good-looking athlete. He moves very well. He just has to learn how to play basketball. ... He has instincts. He has incredible timing. He has Emeka [Okafor] timing right now. Whether he ever becomes Emeka or not is another case, but he is 7-foot-3."

Said Thabeet: "I'll be there. I'm following in his footsteps."

With eight freshmen and five sophomores, UConn will have to find leadership in non-traditional places. Thabeet might be able to offer that, Calhoun said, considering what he has been through, where he has been. He's quiet yet confident. He's intelligent. Well-traveled and well-read, he offers a lot.

"He's very bright, and what he does is a great job of just sitting back and listening," Calhoun said. "I was kidding with him, I said, `You know, you do a great job of making me believe you don't understand.' Sit there and not say anything. I definitely don't have that gift. He laughed. I said, `You understand a lot more than you say, don't you?' He said, `Yup.' He's a unique kid.

"He's been through a lot of adversity. I'll spend more time talking to him. He obviously has a very different perspective than any of our players. That will be valuable in itself."

Contact Mike Anthony at [email protected] courant.com.

Awesome article there, Hasheem is 19!


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## GuYoM (Jun 2, 2005)

1987 for him? So 7'3 is just big, so big at every single age


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## ManiacInsane (Jul 29, 2006)

Guess im officially on the Hasheem Thabeet Bandwagon im f'n amazed at not only his blocking ability but his height and age, Only what 18 - 19 and He's 7'3 If he uses his height to its best abilities this could be a advanced version of Manute Bol.


The Bandwagon shall take off :cheers:


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## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

Isnt there another guy in Kentucky who is of a similar height?


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## o.iatlhawksfan (Mar 3, 2006)

crazyfan said:


> Isnt there another guy in Kentucky who is of a similar height?


Are you talking about that Shagari Alleyne?


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

crazyfan said:


> Isnt there another guy in Kentucky who is of a similar height?


Yeah, he transferred to Manhattan. He's not nearly as good though.


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## THE MATRIX 31 (Jul 22, 2005)

he was born 2/17/87, meaning he is 19.


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## GuYoM (Jun 2, 2005)

THE MATRIX 31 said:


> he was born 2/17/87, meaning he is 19.


source?


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## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

o.iatlhawksfan said:


> Are you talking about that Shagari Alleyne?




oh yes. He's like 7'3 as well right?


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## cv3bandwagon (Mar 16, 2006)

crazyfan said:


> Isnt there another guy in Kentucky who is of a similar height?


LOL and wasn't he the stud............

But give Calhoun 2-3 years with this kid and he could be the next prolific NBA center. Given what he ahs done with much less naturalyl talented big men I cna only imagine what he can do for him. I just hope he dosen't jump ship too early.


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## ThatBlazerGuy (May 1, 2003)

That kid out of Kentucky was so dam frustrating. I mean, he had the lankiest, longest body I have seen. He was decently athletic, fairly fast and should have been good. Instead, he just plain sucked. His BBall IQ is very low.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

I'm on the bandwagon, he seems like a great player and person.


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