Here's his NBA coach on Thabeet: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/hasheem-thabeet-a-work-in-progress/ I'm not going to call Thabeet a bust yet, he could still work out. I'm intrigued about what this means for the college game, in terms of level of competition and how well the college game prepares these guys for the NBA. Thabeet spent 2 years at Uconn, his goal from day 1 was to ready himself for the NBA, yet reading the quotes above, you'd think that Thabeet was some guy they found 2 months ago, not a 2nd team All-American and co-big east player of the year. This guy was a force defensively in college, he blocked over 4 shots a game. He played over 70 games and 2000 minutes in college. What exactly were they teaching him for 2 years?
Two years is not enough when you are going against guys that have played ball for 15 years. I think he will be a very solid Center that can grab 10 boards and block 3 shots a game in 2-3 years. We all know that Memphis needs it with the god awful perimeter D they play over there.
Hasheem Thabeet is Tanzanian for "A Poor Man's Shawn Bradley". Seriously, that Memphis team is almost unwatchable. I really feel bad for MemphisX. I've had to cheer for Nugs teams that were painful to watch before. It just sucks.
I trash Memphis as much as anyone else, but I have to disagree with them being unwatchable. They are not good, but actually not that bad to watch when I caught them playing on free League Pass the last couple nights. The young guys seem to play hard and enjoy the competition. Even Zach Randolph looks pretty good now that he's cutting out trying to do things that he sucks at (like overdribbling, shooting 3s) for the most part.
Really? The iso-ball they showed against the Nugs was horrible to watch. Maybe it was just one game, but considering the history of many of the players I don't see that changing. I'm just not a fan of iso-ball.
I think 99% of the world knew Thabeet was a big project coming out of college, having only two "polished" attributes...Shot blocking and rebounding.
This. Oh my goodness it was embarrassing. Blair completely nullified his shot blocking ability AND almost tore his arm off going for a rebound. You could tell Haseem didn't want to go back in after that.
How could a team make such a wrong choice with a 2nd pick? Sam Bowie. Darko. But this guy takes the cake...
Again I pose the question to every Rockets fan: Hypothetically, if Memphis called you up and offered Thabeet for Chuck Hayes in a straight swap would you do it? I don't think I would, and not that I don't think the world of Hayes or anything, but that really tells you something if I would be unwilling to trade a player of Chuck's caliber for the #2 overall pick in the draft.
Dead on. That was total humiliation. It doesn't look like his shot blocking or rebounding is polished at all. The guy has nothing to offer. After observing him in summer league and pre-season, the words Hollins uses here are very telling. Publically, he's basically taking Thabeet off the hook for the rest of the season and telling fans not to expect anything out of him. From my observation of Thabeet, I really think his goal was just to get to the NBA. Listening to his interviews, it seems like he's accomplished his goal and is satisfied with it. He gave little hint of being driven to improve so he could become a major force in the NBA. He came off as "fat and happy". Now that the shock of actually playing at the next level has blasted him in the face, we'll see what he's made of. If doesn't become a workout warrior (with weights) and a gym rat, he has no chance to succeed. Poor footwork, poor basketball instincts, lack of strength, lack of a motor make his height irrelevant. B4L, I would not make that trade because I'm 99% convinced Thabeet will never amount to anything in the NBA.
Meanwhile Roy Hibbert is looking pretty decent in Indiana, whereas plenty of people on this board said he'd be nothing but a big stiff.
He was drafted No. 2 overall because of his height, not because of his current ability. He was drafted on potential. 7'3" guys don't grow on trees. He may turn out, he may not...he was probably worth the risk though. The guy could potentially be a franchise player, vs just another good SG.
