He needs to go back to college and find out what he really wants to do with his life because it's ridiculously obvious he doesn't want to play basketball. Wow. Coming from someone who used to **** on T-mac because of his body language and psyche I've seen it all.
It is not apathy, it is sensitivity, and a fear of failure. The guy needs to be built up with positive reinforcement, IMO. It is not that he doesn't care, it is that he cares too much.....that is how I read it. DD
Why do you care more about him than other players? Because he is huge and kid from Africa? What's with Hassan Whiteside? You were high on him too.
DD likes players who look like potential physical beasts on paper but suck at basketball(or in VY's case football). If Thabeet had Patterson's BBIQ, DD would probably write him off as a nobody.
I care because he is on my favorite team, and I want them to get the most out of the guy. Look, I could be wrong, but I have managed people for more than 20 years, and what I see in Hasheem is a lot like what I have seen in others, where they turtle down if you criticize them, they go inside a shell. But, those same people if you praise them it draws them out of their shell and they are more productive. When I look at his body language and his demeanor I see a guy who lacks confidence, but is trying hard not to show it, to not make a mistake, not be noticed, etc..etc..etc... I am not sure the Rockets will get him out of his shell, or he will ever amount to anything, but my take is that they need to praise him, build him up, make him feel special, and then he will begin to emerge from his own self imposed shell. That is what it looks like to me, the guy is severly lacking in confidence. DD
If Thabeet had played in the states growing up around the sport and had enablers telling him how great he was at every step, he probably would be a lot better as a ball player today. DD
The case of Hasheem is that he was hyped to be a defensive beast from the start and taken second in the draft. That is the tragedy. You have only so little time left. Maybe he should really consider doing something else. Hey he is good with languages. That might be a start. Best case scenario - We keep him for half a season or more and he proves he can be an NBA presence or he is gone
If he was better he'd still be a Grizzlies right now. Look, he sucks. He's not a basketball player. He may turn into one, but I'm not holding my breath. I find better odds with Johnny Flynn becoming a legit rotation player than Thabeet.
I can understand your desire to find diamonds in the rough however IMO Morey is under a lot of pressure now and you can only guess what that means for the organization You should really be coaching somewhere.....
DD, some of the best athletes in any sport are also the most insecure people you'll find (Alex Rodriguez immediately comes to mind). The reason they have the success is because they never, ever stop working, for fear of being embarrassed when it matters most. Have you considered that maybe Hasheem realizes that, for whatever reason, he simply lacks the skill level to compete at this level, thus the tentativeness? That he hasn't actually put in the work (or was exposed to the game too late in life) to allow instinct and muscle memory to kick in during games?
Well, with the signing of Greg Smith I really think he and Omar Sanham could realistically knock Thabeet into the Amnesty pit.
He played with passion at UConn... If Kevin McHale can't bring it out of him, no one can. We will see soon enough. Morey won't amnesty him without consulting the coaches. In the practice that Clutch posted, he was getting some practice time running plays. I could see him playing 10 minutes a game or so. I have my fingers crossed that he figures it out, and begins to care.
He is the greatest shotblocker in college basketball history. He has to have some kind of Mutumbo-esque instinct in there somewhere, right? All he needs to do is block and rebound and play tough and LOUD. He needs to TALK on defense...
