NBA Draft Prospects: Hasheem Thabeet, UConn

For a complete listing of NBA Draft prospects and their player breakdown, click here.

Stats: 13.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 4.2 bpg, 64% FG, 62.9% FT

Listed Size: 7'3", 270 lb, 2/16/87 (22 years old)

(photo credit: SlamOnline)

About Him: Hasheem Thabeet is a defensive force. It is rare that you can find a player that can dominate and control a game without taking a shot. But that is what Thabeet can do. Forget for a second that he is 7'3" with the wingspan of a pterodactyl. Forget that he is much more athletic and agile than your typical 7 footer (can a 7 footer be typical?). The thing that makes him so good defensively is that he has incredible instincts when it comes to blocking shots - he doesn't bite on pump fakes, he's exceptional at blocking shots from the weak side out of his area, and most importantly he can stay out of foul trouble.

That's not to say he is ready to guard NBA centers just yet. He still needs to add a good 20-30 lb's to his 270 lb frame, and really needs to improve on his core strength, leg strength, and balance. But he has the size and the instincts that you can't teach, and he has already proven he has a good work ethic.

As a freshman, Thabeet's offensive repertoire was laughable. He had no back-to-the-basket game at all, he couldn't catch the ball, and he was too afraid of contact to finish with a dunk, instead missing point blank lay-ups all too frequently. While his offensive game is still greatly lacking, he has shown some serious signs of improvement. He has developed a decent touch on his free throw stroke, and by the tournament he was taking (and making) 12-15 foot jumpers. He started showing signs of understanding low post positioning offensively as well as finishing off post moves with decent-looking jump hooks.

But most importantly, he dunked as much and as hard as anyone in the college game this side of Blake Griffin and was not afraid to let someone know about it after. With Thabeet, the biggest thing is toughness - playing with a mean streak, with an attitude. When he did, he had games like the one against Providence (15 points, 11 boards, 10 blocks) or Seton Hall (25 points, 20 boards, 9 blocks). When he doesn't, he gets DeJuan Blaired.

There are two things he really needs to improve on at the next level - defending the pick and roll (which he has actually gotten fairly good at defending) and breaking his habit of putting the ball on the floor in the lane.

Comparisons: Best Case - Samuel Dalembert, Dikembe Mutumbo; Worst Case - Mamadou N'Diaye, Sagana Diop

Bottom Line: Yes, Thabeet got eaten up by Blair this year, but that performance does not really project to the pro's. Blair is a tough match-up for Thabeet (short, stocky, strong vs. long, lanky, not-so-strong), and is one that he is unlikely to see too often in the pro's. NBA teams have centers, taller guys with similar centers of gravity to Thabeet. As he keeps improving defensively against the pick and roll, Thabeet is going to be a guy that can be a difference maker defensively. The question is, will his offense (and his strength) allow him to be more than a situational role player?

Highlights:





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CAN HASHEEM THABEET GO 2ND?: One scout that the Boston Globe spoke too seems to think so:

"You haven't seen too many Dikembes in this league. If you can get someone on your team like that who can be around the league for 16-17 years, you've got to take a look at that."

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Thabeet is his athleticism. An NBA scout said he would be the most athletic "true center" in the league.

"Dwight [Howard] is a hybrid center who is really a power forward," the scout said. "[Thabeet] is a true center. You're not going to find one in our league more athletic, agile, and coordinated with shot-blocking instincts."

I can get on board with the idea that Thabeet can be the next Mutumbo (I've made that comparison a number of times myself). I also think there is a real possibility of Thabeet going second, especially if a team like the Wizards, who will have plenty of scoring next season and need a player that can provide an immediate impact inside, ends up picking in that spot.

What I disagree with is this scout saying Thabeet will be the most athletic "true center" in the league, and saying that Howard is not a center.

Really?

Remember this? Thabeet is a long way from being ready for NBA centers.
(photo credit: Zimbio)

Barkley is 6'5". Was he not a power forward? Magic is 6'9". Was he not a point guard? In my opinion, height should have no bearing on the position you play if you excel at the position. And Dwight Howard excels. What'd he have, 16 points and 22 boards tonight?

It isn't just the critique of Howard. A huge part of "athleticism" is your strength. Thabeet is a long way away from being strong enough to play in the pivot in the league. While he does move up and down the floor pretty well, he gets up off the ground fairly high for someone his size, and his timing and discipline when it comes to blocking shots is amazing, calling him the most athletic center, "true" or "untrue", is a stretch at this point.

Players I would put in that category: Amare, Sam Dalembert, Tyson Chandler, maybe even Andrew Bynum or Greg Oden if they can stay healthy. Continue reading...

Way Too Early NBA Draft Post - Who Helped and Who Hurt Their Stock This Weekend

For the sake of this post, we are going to assume that everyone is declaring for the draft. Since we are discussing draft stock, we can assume that everyone is eligible because, well, they are. I'm a firm believer that a player's hype can influence their draft position because I feel like a lot of GM's will draft someone "hot" because it will appease their fan base. Right or wrong, a good NCAA Tournament, where a player excels in front of a national audience, can give people a false impression of how good that player will be. Think Joe Alexander.

Who Hurt Themselves:

• James Harden, Arizona State: Harden can score at the collegiate level. There is no doubt about that, as he has put up some phenomenal numbers in his two years in Tempe. There have really been two knocks on Harden throughout his career as a Sun Devil. The first is that he lacks the explosiveness to be a franchise caliber scorer in the league. He does not have a great vertical, and when he does score going to the rim, it is more the result of his craftiness than the ability to dunk on people (Gerald Henderson he is not). In the two games this weekend, he did not really finish around the rim, instead drawing fouls and getting to the line (he shot 17 free throws in the two games). Against more athletic defenders, he may not be able to draw these fouls.
  
  The other issue is that he is not aggressive enough. Harden has a tendency to "let the game come to him", meaning he does not utilize his tremendous talent by attacking defenders from the tip. He did not look aggressive in either game this weekend. It was less of an issue against Temple, because both Derek Glasser and Jeff Pendergraph were really clicking offensively. But against Syracuse he looked downright passive. Yes, a lot of that had to do with amount of focus he was being given by the Syracuse defense (Rihard Kuksiks and Ty Abbott both were left open all game by Syracuse, as the Orange decided to let the Sun Devils try and shoot themselves back into the game). He did not score a point in the first half against Syracuse, and although he did start to make things happen in the second half, it was too little too late. He is being projected by most places as a top-5 pick, which is a range where teams will try to find a franchise player, or at least a go-to scorer. Will a team be willing to use a pick that high on a guy that has not shown the ability (or desire) to take over a game when the team needs him to?


• Austin Daye, Gonzaga: Daye has all the tools that you would look for in a player. He is 6'10" and long with an inside and outside game. After a good freshman campaign, a lot was expected out of Daye this year. But he has been inconsistent, especially against quality competition. He went for 22 against Arizona and 20 against Tennessee this year, but he was a non-factor in the loss to Memphis, fouled out against UConn, and did not play well in any of the three games against St. Mary's.
  
  Yes, Daye has looked a bit less athletic than he did last year, but he did deal with some knee injuries in the off-season. And the lack of strength on his frame is always going to be a question mark, but he is just 19 years old (looks like he is 15) and that should improve as he continues to fill out (toughness is an issue as well. Watch the video of the end of the WKU game, and see who Pettigrew out hustles for the tip-in that tied the game). But the biggest issue has been his attitude. Daye has a tendency to to sulk when things aren't going his way, be it because he is missing shots or not getting calls. That is what was most prevalent about his two performances this weekend. Daye seemingly whined about every call that didn't go his way. If he can't handle it at this level, what is going to happen in the NBA, where unproven young players get even fewer calls?


• Jeff Teague, James Johnson, and Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest: Two months ago, all three of these guys seemed destined for the lottery. Wake was running people off the floor, and each of these guys were shining. But ever since teams figured out how to play Wake (pack it in defensively, slow the pace, and force them to shoot jumpers and score in the half court), the Demon Deacons were nothing more than mediocre. All three of these guys are fantastic athletes and damn near unstoppable in an open court, up and down game. But it has become apparent that they all need some serious work on their basketball skills - handle, shooting, etc.
  
  Teague has probably dropped the most of the three. He was on fire for the early part of the season, but his threes did not fall down the stretch. He also was exposed as a shaky ball-handler, play maker, and decision maker down the stretch. Case in point - he committed seven turnovers and was able to take just seven shots against Cleveland State in the biggest game of his Wake career.


• Hasheem Thabeet, UConn: There is no question that Thabeet is a defensive force in the paint unlike many others. But the question is his offensive ability and his toughness inside, especially against bigger, stronger players (see his 5 point, 4 rebound performance against DeJuan Blair in their first match-up). It was more of the same for Thabeet against a big, strong Texas A&M front line. He finished with just six boards, taking only two shots from the field, and, as he has been all too often against players with NBA size and strength, was basically a non-factor on the offensive end.


• Luke Nevill, Utah: Nevill has NBA size (7'2", 260 lb), but the numbers he put up as the MWC player of the year this season came against, well, the MWC. Nevill has a decent post game offesively, and while he can't really go left yet, a team might have taken a risk on him simply because of his size. But the biggest knock on Nevill is his lack of athleticism - he is not very quick, especially laterally, and can't jump all that high. Doubters have questioned whether or not he will be able to match-up with NBA big men. He had a chance to prove them wrong against the athletic front line of Arizona, headlined by potential top 10 pick Jordan Hill, but Nevill looked completely over matched. He was in foul trouble the entire game as he could not match-up with the athletic Hill.
  

Who Helped Themselves:

• Cole Aldrich, Kansas: Aldrich has the size, strength, and skill set to be a good NBA center, and he only reinforced those notions with his performance in the first two rounds. He was unstoppable on the block against North Dakota State, which was to be expected as the Bison have a small front line. It was already known, however, that Aldrich had an excellent upside as an offensive player - he has a great touch on his jump shot, is extremely coordinated for someone his size (think about all the difficult oops he has caught this year), and while he still is not a great scorer going 1-on-1 on the block, that can come with time. Against Dayton, however, Aldrich put up as dominating of a performance on the defensive end as we have seen all year (and that is including Thabeet). While no one is in Thabeet's league when it comes to defense, Aldrich is 6'11" with a huge wingspan and phenomenal timing (and the ability to avoid foul trouble - he averages just 3.8 fouls per 40 minutes). Aldrich has the potential to be an above average defensive center, and while he is still developing offensively, he good be a more appealing prospect than Thabeet because he can contribute on both sides of the ball.


• Ben Woodside, North Dakota State: Woodside was probably not on many people's radar before his 60 point game against Stephen F. Austin, but he has had an excellent career, averaging at least 16.4 ppg and 5.1 apg in every season at NDSU. This season was by far his best, as he was top 10 nationally were averages of 23.2 ppg and 6.2 apg. The problem was that he did it against poor competition playing in the Summit League (he did average 15 ppg and 8 apg against USC and Minnesota this season). But in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Woodside had a coming out party. He went for 37 points, going basket for basket with Sherron Collins. Woodside is not going to be a star in the league. He is small, even for a point guard, and will be a liability on the defensive end. But Woodside can be an effective player. While not all that fast, he is deceptively quick and has a knack for being able to get in the lane (he got just about any shot he wanted - be it a jumper or getting to the rim - against Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor, two fine defenders). He is a deadeye shooter off the dribble or the catch and can create for his teammates as well. I'm sure that some team will take a flyer on him in the second round or through free agency, and his performance against Collins will be a huge reason why. Is this guy another Jose Juan Barea?


• Kenneth Faried, Morehead State: Faried is in a similar situation to Woodside, in that he was a virtual unknown before a good tournament performance. Faried put up some great numbers this season, averaging 13.7 ppg and 13.0 rpg. He is an extremely active, high energy guy, and a capable defender (2 steals and 2 blocks per game). While he doesn't quite have ideal NBA size (he is only 6'8"), he has some serious hops and, as I said, plays with a ton of energy. Some people are comparing him to Louis Admunson, an energy guy that not many people had heard of outside of UNLV, but who has managed to latch on with the Pheonix Suns. Offensively, he is not much more than a dunker at this point (and may never be more than a dunker), but the 14 points and 21 boards he had in the play-in game, and the 14 points and 11 boards he had against Louisville, definitely put him on the NBA's radar. He is only a sophomore, so if he can continue to develop his strength (only 215 lb), you might be looking at a future pro.


• Evan Turner, Ohio State: Turner is already considered a solid first round pick. He does so many things well. Despite the loss to Siena, Turner proved it on a national stage, as he finished the game with 25 points, 9 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Turner grew an inch between his freshman and sophomore years (he now stands at 6'7", great size for an NBA wing), and he has good length for his position. What makes him such a tantalizing prospect is how smooth he is. He is one of those guys that just makes everything he does on a basketball court seem effortless. He is not the most explosive guy in the world (he runs into trouble when he has to finish at the rim) but his mid-range game and pull-up jumper is already quite developed. He is a crafty player that utilizes fakes and hesitation moves to overcome his relative lack of quickness. Turner reminds me a lot of a guy like Danny Granger - a player that will fall through the cracks in the draft because he doesn't do anything great, but because he is so versatile and does so many things well, don't be surprised if he turns into a very good player at the next level, especially if he keeps improving the range on his jump shot. Turner said he is coming back after OSU lost, but don't be surprised if he changes his mind as the draft nears
  


• Demar Derozan, USC: Derozan may have helped his draft status as much as anyone over the last two weeks of his freshman campaign. He had a disappointing freshman year prior to March. You know about his off-the-charts athleticism, but he didn't seem to have the confidence in his ability. But he carried USC through the Pac-10 tourney (averaging 21 and 9 boards) and into the dance, where he put 18 on both Michigan State and Boston College. While he is still far from an NBA player because of his under developed offense repertoire (he can't really get to the basket in a half court set just yet, and his ball handling is very poor), he showed much improved aggressiveness, especially going to the glass. He also seems like the kind of player that will develop a very good jump shot down the road. He has great form, and he gets some serious elevation on his J, which will make it very difficult to defend. While he could really use another season at USC to continue his development on the offensive end, don't be surprised if his performance in March leads him to the draft, and even into the top 10.
  

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Hasheem Thabeet and DeJuan Blair Share Big East POY

Since I am covering the Big Easy tournament this week, I figured I would pass along this piece of relevant news. UConn's Hasheem Thabeet and Pitt's DeJuan Blair have been named co-Big East Players of the Year. It was the first time since 2001-2002 that the Big East POY was shared. That year, coincidentally, it was shared between a UConn and Pitt player as well - Caron Butler of the Huskies and Brevin Knight of the Panthers.

As you know, I chose Terrence Williams of Louisville as the BIAH Big East POY. I missed on that one, but I nailed the Coach of the Year and the Freshman of the Year as Jay Wright of Villanova and Greg Monroe of Georgetown, respectively, won those awards. Continue reading...

Hasheem Thabeet or DeJuan Blair: Who Will be the Better Pro?

Anyone that watched the Pitt Panthers beat (up, physically) the UConn Huskies last night will know that DeJuan Blair owned Hasheem Thabeet in a match-up of the two best big men in the country.

Clearly, Blair was the better player last night and probably will have Thabeet's number come the March 7th match-up in Pittsburgh (and any potential match-up in the Big East or NCAA tournaments). But it is tough to argue that Blair has more upside than Thabeet.

The question becomes who will be a better pro. More than anything, last night really exposed Thabeet. Right now, Thabeet is an exceptional help defender - he thrives on being the weak side shot blocker and defending the rim against perimeter penetration. Where he struggles is when he is forced to guard someone stronger than him (especially a guy like Blair, whose center of gravity is so much lower) or someone who is quicker than him and can play the perimeter (remember what happened when the Huskies played Georgetown?).

Who will be the better pro?
(photo credit: ESPN)

He succeeds as a 1-on-1 defender when he goes against other players with similar physiques, other true centers. In the NBA, those are the kind of players he will face. He still needs to get stronger, but once he does he will be able to guard guys like Andrew Bynum or Amare Stoudamire simply because of his length and athleticism. Because of his limited offensive repertoire and the way he struggles defending the pick-and-roll (and on the perimeter in general), Thabeet may never be more than a role/bench player. But there is definitely a place for him in the league.

It is a little different for Blair. Here is a guy who is listed at 6'7' but is probably closer to 6'6", not a great athlete, and around 260 lb. On the surface, Blair looks destined to follow in the footsteps of a guy like Mike Sweetney - too short to survive in the post, not enough perimeter game to become a Corliss Williamson.

But Blair really impressed me last night. Yes, 22 and 23 in a game against the #1 team in the country should impress everyone. It wasn't the numbers, however. It was the way Blair executed his moves offensively. Everyone knows about Blair's rebounding ability and how well he understands positioning, but I always questioned how well Blair would play going against a tall shot blocker. It is safe to say Blair was somewhat successful last night.

What Blair did was hit Thabeet first, knocking Thabeet off balance, back a half step, and thus taking away his jumping ability. Essentially, he neutralized Thabeet's shot blocking. He did it going to his right, to his left, finishing with a fade-away, off the dribble. I understand that Blair is a tough match-up for Thabeet right now, but he really made an impression with his complete dominance on both ends of the floor.

Another thing that impresses me about Blair is his passing ability, especially on outlet passes. One of the reasons Pitt is so good this year is that they can overcome their offensive struggles by running the floor. They are able to get out and run in large part because the guy that gets the majority of their rebounds can throw an exceptional outlet pass.

His strength and rebounding ability alone should allow him a Danny Fortson type of career, but if last night is any indication, he could become much more.

My take? I think at worst both will be effective role players in the league. Thabeet has a much higher ceiling (he could turn into the next Dikembe Mutumbo), but that is a big 'if'. Blair could probably average 8 boards a game right now in the league, but if things break right (right system, loses some weight while keeping that strength) there is a good chance he becomes a 15 and 10 guy. Continue reading...

Pre-Season MVP

Before I get into the meat of this post, I want to clarify one thing - there is a difference between Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player. The POY is, well, the best player during a given season. The MVP is the guy who had the biggest effect on his team's success during that year. Take last season as an example. Tyler Hansbrough won the Wooden Award as college basketball's best player, as well as numerous other player of the year honors. But I would argue that there were quite a few players more valuable than Hansbrough - Stephen Curry, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, DJ Augustin, and maybe even guys like Roy Hibbert or James Harden. Those guys weren't necessarily better players and they didn't necessarily have better years, but given the system that their teams ran and/or the amount of talent surrounding them, there is an argument to be made for each player I mentioned as more valuable than Psycho T.

How valuable a player is, valuability if you will, might be the most subjective topic in sports. As far as I can tell, there are two basic schools of thought when it comes to MVP voting. The first is strictly talent based - the best player is the most valuable. This is why, no matter the season or how their team's performed, Kobe and Lebron will always be in the discussion when it comes to MVP. The second is when a team runs a specific system that is very successful, and there is one player that is essential for the team to be able to play that style. Call it the Steve Nash MVP Theory (patent pending).

Personally, I tend to lean towards the second theory when it comes to MVP selection, which is why I believe UConn's Hasheem Thabeet is college basketball's MVP heading into the season. Is he the best player in the country? Please. He might not even be one of the best two players on his own team. But there is no player more important to their team than Thabeet.

I know what you're thinking: how can a guy whose offensive repertoire consists of being 7'3" and dunking when someone passes the ball to him near the basket be an MVP?

Its simple: UConn is not going to be a team that will beat you with their offense. Sure, they have some talented players - AJ Price, Jerome Dyson, Kemba Walker, Jeff Adrien - but year-in and year-out, what the Huskies hang their hat on is their defense. And Thabeet is the most intimidating defense presence in the country.

For the last seven years, UConn has led the country in blocked shots, and that's not a coincidence. You see, Jim Calhoun focuses on bringing in big, long, and athletic big men because the defensive system he runs is so dependent on having a shot blocker at the rim.

What the Huskies do is play tough, pressure, man-to-man defense in the half court. They over play passing lanes, they get up in the jock of who ever has the ball, and they force you to penetrate because the guards and the wings know that if they do happen to get beat to the rim, there is a 7'3" human eraser waiting to clean up their mess.

Never has one guy been more important to the Huskies defense than Thabeet will be this year. Only once in UConn's seven year run has a player had a higher percentage of the team's total blocks than Thabeet did last year (Emeka Okafor in '02-'03). That number will most likely go up this year as Stanley Robinson (the team's second leading shot blocker) and Ater Majok (this year's big, long, and athletic recruit) will not be eligible until at least December, if at all. Jeff Adrien is a great player, but he is "listed" at 6'7" and probably closer to 6'5". Gavin Edwards is not a shot blocker. Jonathon Mandeldove is lucky to even be allowed to see the court. For now, that's it, as far as big men go.

How far the Huskies go this year is going to depend on their defense, and how good their defense will be is going to be a result of how good Thabeet is on that end of the floor. UConn is ranked number two in both polls, so a Final Four trip is a very real possibility. There is a lot that can happen in a season, so at this point it is all speculation, but is there another team that is a legitimate Final Four threat that will be depending on a player as much as the Huskies will be depending on Thabeet? I don't think there is. Continue reading...

Welcome to the Bulletin Board, Mr. Thabeet

Apparently, Hasheem Thabeet is not too fond of the fact that Tyler Hansbrough and Luke Harangody are getting all of the pre-season accolades. A quote from the new ESPN the Mag:

I played Luke Harangody and he was not tough. Tyler Hansbrough? I don't see nothing.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the quote didn't come from an article. It was printed on the cover.

To be honest, I like the swagger and confidence from Thabeet. An attitude like that is exactly what he needs on the court to be effective, because when he plays confidently and aggressively, he is a monster in the paint. I just don't think mouthing off to ESPN was the smartest thing to do, no matter how confident he is. That is, of course, unless he wanted to give Notre Dame and UNC (should the Huskies and Heels meet) extra motivation and attract a few errant elbows in his direction. Continue reading...