NBA needs Thabeet
April 6, 2009 by James Edwards
Filed under NBA Draft
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
Hasheem Thabeet was showing off his big game in the NCAA tournament. As Tom Izzo said, “Until you are on the court and have to face him, you cannot believe how tall he is”.
Special Tom Izzo timeout: A big shout out to my MSU Spartans in the final game of the NCAA facing everyone’s favorite the North Carolina powder blue. May my Spartans rule!
Thabeet behind Kalin Lucas of MSU. It looks like he is playing with a bunch of 8th graders.
7′ 3″ tall and with a build that says he is strong, instead of tall. If you were in the stands watching him play, you might think he was a shorter player playing on a shorter rim, in other words he is not some bean pole.
And Thabeet has skills.
Now, less than three years removed from his days at Cypress Christian, Thabeet has plenty of reasons to smile. A junior who is still considered a raw talent by N.B.A. standards, he has developed into the Big East’s co-player of the year and the league’s back-to-back defensive player of the year. He is expected to be a top-five pick in the N.B.A. draft in June.
His shot-blocking and rebounding have been instrumental in the run that Connecticut (31-4) made to Saturday’s national semifinal against Michigan State (30-6) in Detroit.
This season, Thabeet is averaging 13.5 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.28 blocks. Not bad for a player who had to be prodded by his high school coaches to dunk in layup lines.
source
Hasheem is raw talent in a very tall body and the NBA needs him now.
Why? Will he begin to dominate the NBA?
No, Hasheem is not skilled enough to dominate, but he can begin to bring back the athletic big man to the NBA. It is a league that has oddly grown shorter at the center position and opted instead for speed. Hasheem can bring speed with tall, an odd mix of words, but you get it.
With Shaq on the way out, there are few big physical centers in the league left, maybe Oden or Howard. The NBA has always had big physical centers. We love to watch them play and smash against each other underneath the basket.
Yes, Hasheem wants the NBA and the NBA needs Hasheem.
Photo source Newscom
As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.
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