UConn's Hasheem Thabeet To Leave For NBA Draft

Not a surprise, but Thabeet needs to refine his offensive skills and get tougher. I don't know if he has it in him to play tough, though. Look at what happened to him when DeJuan Blair played him. When Thabeet got muscled, he was SHUT DOWN. The NBA is fulled with players who are strong and athletic - not to mention athletically gifted. Thabeet was a great shot blocker in college, and he began to develop an offensive game, but he would have benefited from another year, no question.

Good Luck Hasheem and thanks for the memories!

He'll get in the weight room, bulk up, and he'll be an All Star.

I feel bad for Thabeet -- he has no options at this point. Stay at UConn and be on probation ?? Be stalked and ridiculed on the sidelines for another season by Jimma " Not a Dime " Baboon ?? Go to the NBA and get physically dominated by grown men--- like he did against Georgetown, Pitt, and Michigan St. This could possibly end up like the 2nd coming of Yinka Dare. He is defintely not a "can't miss" prospect . I feel sorry forn his lack of options !!

Too bad. I had hoped that Hasheem, being so close (I assume) to graduation, would come back and finish the job. True, he's going to get a lot of money to ride the pine in the NBA, but why not play for one more year first? Impatience is always the byword, it seems. There's so much time to be a millionaire (as if I'd know) and time literally flies (this much I do know). Money is so beguiling to the young.

Anyway, as a coach, I would have recommended he work on those "just beginning to bud" offensive skills while securing his back-up plan for life (the degree). Too bad the NBA doesn't refuse to take players before they graduate. This is the case in the WNBA, and the NCAA could put some bite into their oft-ridiculed "student-athlete" talk if they made such an arrangement for the men as well with the Raiders of the NBA.

Good luck, HT, and let's all move on. Coach Calhoun, please get Stanley back in class and put that graduation rate issue on the front burner for all your players. The best public university in New England deserves an Athletic Dept. with high standards not only in athletics, but in academics.

Next year's Huskies aside. Hasheem is not ready for the NBA. He is not tough enough, yet. He really needed another year at the college level to mature and get his "complete" game under control.I question his resilience in tough, competitive situations.There are many Dujuan Blairs in the NBA and we all know what happened against Pitt. Hasheem had his lunch eaten by someone else. It is a shame that the NBA dangles the almighty $ in front of players who really should finish college to protect their future beyond the meat market that is professional sports.

Thabeet doesn't have to be "NBA ready."

In fact, there's a philosophy among many in the pros that they don't want Centers to be TOO ready, because it can leave them needing to be untrained.

Thabeet will be fine in the pros.

Thanks, Hasheem, and good luck.

real good players don't play 4 years. what player has Calhoun steered wrong in leaving early? ok, forget about El-Amin.

Good luck Hash - enjoy the fruits of your labor!!

It should be a requirement thet these college b-ball playing, full scholarship imbeciles cannot be drafted by the NBA unless they graduate ... even if their degree is in Applied TV Watching

He's gonna have to learn not to keep the ball so low while in the paint or he's gonna get killed in the NBA. I mean Dwight Howard is gonna eat this guy alive.

Iron Sheik wrote:

He's gonna have to learn not to keep the ball so low while in the paint or he's gonna get killed in the NBA. I mean Dwight Howard is gonna eat this guy alive.

You are correct as well as he going to have to learn how to stay on two feet. The guy was aways on the falling down. The NBA will use him to clean the soles of their shoes.If he does not learn he will be playing in Europe before he knows it. Too bad for him one more year with not a dime Jim would have done him good.

Tony from Cromwell wrote:

I feel bad for Thabeet -- he has no options at this point. Stay at UConn and be on probation ?? Be stalked and ridiculed on the sidelines for another season by Jimma " Not a Dime " Baboon ?? Go to the NBA and get physically dominated by grown men--- like he did against Georgetown, Pitt, and Michigan St. This could possibly end up like the 2nd coming of Yinka Dare. He is defintely not a "can't miss" prospect . I feel sorry forn his lack of options !!

I was prepared to dismiss this as yet another Grade B troll attempt, but your Yinka Dare reference changed everything.

Sir, I salute you.

Calhoun's graduation rate is abysmal. UCONN was out classed in the classroom and on the court once again. My guess is Villanova, NC & Mich State all have MUCH higher graduation rates than Jimmy 'not a dime'...

Slow, soft,no offense---He'll fit right in until May/June bonus time when the players actually start to play ball. Yinka Dare? Don't forget Manute Bol

Good luck HT. I hope you don't become the next Marcus Williams.

They're talking about him being a top 3 pick in the draft. He'd be crazy not to go. Nobody expects him to enter the league and eat guys up, but he'll be a good NBA player before you know it. Just look at how much better he got in 3 seasons at UConn. The way I see it he might as well collect that big check while he develops his offense. Congrats to him and his family and thanks for the fun ride to the Final Four. (Something that many of the best players in UConn history did not do).

This kid isn't ready for the NBA. It's so sad that so many kids (and they are just kids) shoot off to the NBA and many don't have the maturity, experience and muscle to survive. And when that day comes, either because of career ending injury or they simply can't make it, they have no other skills to survive in the world. Look at the grades and the graduation rates of these guys. What else are the qualified for if they don't make it in the pros?

me again wrote:

real good players don't play 4 years. what player has Calhoun steered wrong in leaving early? ok, forget about El-Amin.
Good luck Hash - enjoy the fruits of your labor!!

kind of confused on what you said about El-Amin? He was on the first Mens team to give us fans and State a NCAA Title?

So, another player of Calhoun's is not graduating. This story is congratulatory - it shouldn't be. He should not be sucking up our educational resources, enjoying a free ride on our dime, use us to hone his skills and because of a lack of leadership and guidance, bail early. Maybe when he signs his multi-million dollar paycheck, he should send us a check back for his training.

You sir were a defensive force in college. What a pleasure and joy to watch your skills while at UConn.

You changed the game plans of many an opponent. Watching your blocks and devil-may-care smiles blind to your critics were your strongest qualities.

We were fortunate to have you during your abreviated stay. You will always be a Husky!!!

As a fan, I will say watching your blocks were just as exciting as a Scott Burell running down an opponent who thought he had an easy layup. You just knew it was going to happen.

God speed and keep smiling.