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Thabeet Article
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A bit choppy? LOL ...translate it? LOL
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How about an executive summary in English?
joober jones
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From the streets of Dar es Salaam at the shiny wooden floors of the NBA, to the shadows of the D-League: the story of a broken Titan who has not yet surrendered.
of Simone Simeoni , @simeoni_simone 24/07/2016, 15:00
10 Be first to comment!
credits to: bongo5.com via Google
" Watapanda na kushuka
Na wataanguka kweli!
Wakisukumwa na wa Upepo wakati! "
I try to imagine the wonder of a player who, by opening an article about basketball, you stand in front of three lines of gibberish. The immediate impression should be that of a blunder. Maybe it's the wrong item - you might think - because these three lines do not seem to have a meaning, indeed: they seem to be rather one of those clumsy childish attempts to put together syllables at random for groped to make himself understood by adults. Or it may seem like an alien language taken from some daring science fiction movie. But it is not an error, and the article on basketball that you have opened really begins with three lines of gibberish. Appearances, however, can be deceiving, because what might seem a triplet in Clingan taken from an episode Star Trek: The Next Generation , it is actually something much simpler and - in his own way - family. It is a foreign language . A little known language, with which Westerners generally do not have (or do not dare to have) very familiar. But a language which allowsalmost ninety million people to communicate , to meet, to make friends, to discuss, to argue. It is the Swahili , the lingua franca of Black Africa. A business language, a language created to be functional, a language " artificial ". But also a language like this, when it becomes an expression of such a great human community, ends up developing its own literature , its poetry , its own way to bring forth the inherent beauty of the word. And so it happened to Swahili , which has experienced a great literary production, which has its beating heart inTanzania . And besides, the most famous author in language Swahili is just the Tanzanian Euphrase Kezilahabi , the poet which belong those three incomprehensible verses that opened this article. What, then, those words mean? It is not simple render certain sense, but a fairly significant translation would be:
" Arise and fall
And really plummeted
Guided by the winds of time. "
Kezilahabi did not know that by writing these words in 1974 , was prophetically describing the parable of a man, another Tanzanian, which is the focus of this article. Rise and fall. Get up, shaking the dust off before falling back on his knees.Two verbs, two concepts, which are sufficient to deliver an idea rather than a concrete history of a person in his being a basketball player. Two words that do not exhaust, but outline it clearly, and perhaps a little 'depressing, of lifeHasheem Thabeet .
It was February 16, 1987 in Dar es Salaam , when Mrs. Rukia Manka , recently widowed Mr. Thabit Manka gave birth to a male child. Rukia chose for her son a name of Arab ancestry from very strong meaning: Hashim Thabit , " the Destroyer of Evil ." An important role as the one given by the mother of that name, a role that he would need the right physique du role . But fortunatelyHashim Thabit Manka was high - very high - so much so that even as a child stood out above all his peers. A little giant Hashim , forced to grow into one of the most inhospitable environments in the world: a large African metropolis .
Dar es Salaam was no longer, at least nominally, the capital of Tanzania , but continued to be the most populous city of this great state of East Africa, and had all the merits and defects. It was certainly not an easy life, but Hashim was, in its way, a privileged: he attended the Mlimani Primary School , a structure does not exactly cutting edge, but still have a lot more than what the majority of his peers could afford . After successfully completing their primary education, the young Thabit also passed by Makongo Secondary School. But these privileges the young Hashim Thabit if it was more than earned. He took active part in the maintenance of the family, taking advantage of the unique physical as model , thus helping Rukia mother to fend for her sister Sham and his brother Akbar .
And despite everything, Hashim Thabit Manka still found the energy to thesport . Just thirteen year took part in a half marathon , as if to take a road, the athletics and endurance races in particular, on which the Africans are undisputed rulers. But the race was not for him, a guy looking for a more rapid pace. So he decided to try the most popular sport in Tanzania: the football . And despite the long levers he was pretty good. Good enough to seem like moving toward a possible career that would take him to play in one of the two great team soccer Tanzanians, the Yanga or Simba . But something got in the way. It was a basketball game in which the young Hashim witnessed by chance in Dar es Salaam. He had fifteen years . And after that game they were more, and more.Hashim Thabit did not know, but he was falling in love the ball into wedges. He decided to try it too, so tall and powerful as it was, seemed the ideal profile for the sport. It was the right choice. The best of his entire life.
At that time the family moved from Tanzania to Kenya , in Nairobi , where Hashim began attending the Laiser Hill Academy . He played basketball for a very short time, but he had a very deep understanding of the game, and quickly learned. Improved visibly, day after day, with walk worthy of the giant he was.And then someone noticed him. A group of Americans on vacation in Kenya stopped to watch a game and he was there, towering and slender, a Titan that towered over his companions. They were electrocuted. At the end of the match Hashim was seen approaching from these pale tourists and proposed to go to the United States , to learn to play better and better. They said that they have the necessary knowledge in a high school .
So it was that Hashim Thabit, who in the Stateswould have adapted his name to Hasheem Thabeet , his bags and left Africa to go and to marry in Houston , Texas, the Cypress Christian School . It was a revelation. The boy had some room for improvement frightening, everybody realized, and was the subject of college basketball .Sure, there were also the classic problems of adjustment, because when Hasheem Thabeet reached the United States was able to speak fluently the Swahili and French , but did not know that a few syllables in English. A considerable barrier, linguistic, yet after seeing recruiters would be ready to teach Swahili to the rest of the team just to have him. In 2006 a 19 year old Hasheem Thabeet just graduated, and taken the hard road he had chosen, that of the basketball player.
That year at the University of Connecticut was the legendary Jim Calhoun , coach of the Huskies by two decades. The curriculum vitae of Calhoun was impressive, and spoke (at the time) to two NCAA titles taken home, in 1999 and 2004 of a National Invitation Tournament dated 1988 as well as several other collegiate basketball titles. But his creature - UConn - per hour was the turning point.
The Draft 2006 the Houston Rockets had selected Rudy Gay , the clearest talent of his roster, leaving the team in an emergency.They served fresh forces alongside Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie , who have now reached their year senior , but fortunately therecruiting class that year was full of exciting prospects. Calhoun moved carefully, selecting only profiles extremely interesting thought: came the English small forward Ben Eaves (actually not quite memorable) and with him the strong wings Curtis Kelly and Stanley Robinson , but mostly came a deadly shooting guard who He responded to the nameJerome Dyson (a particularly well-known name in that of Sassari). With the return of AJ Price - he had joined in 2004 , but had been stopped for two years by an arteriovenous malformation of the brain - only one piece was missing from the roster of UConn: a dominant center.
Calhoun looked around, and his attention was literally magnetized by the African giant that dominated the painted of ' high school basketball . So it was that Hasheem Thabeet enrolled at UConn , to be molded by the expert hands of a coach Hall of Famer .
Hasheem Thabeet with the shirt of UConn ; credits to: daytondailynews.com via Google
The first year in that Connecticut was indeed a success: Thabeet amounted EUR-minute major, putting together more than interesting figures, especially - is granted - under the heading blocked shots ( 3.8 per game during the year, to dress the 6.2 pts connected to shoe ). On 3 December 2006 also Thabeet wrote his name in the early history of UConn equaling the team record for blocked shots in a single game, well 10 , placed in face-to- Texas Southern in a resounding victory by 106-55 .
UConn dominated the regualr season of the Big East , winning the Conference , and Thabeet , along with Dyson , was named in the best quintet of rookies. It was the beginning of a successful career. In its year sophomore Thabeet earned another space, and rewarded coach Calhoun with a season to 10.5 pts, 7.9 rbd and 4.5 blk connected to shoe, marking the second time the peak of 10 blocked shots , this time in an effortloser, on January 5, 2008 , when theHuskies were defeated 73-67 by Notre Dame . At the end of the season he could not help but win the title asDefensive Player of the Year in the Big East conferece , and was also included in the second best quintet. But he was in his year junior ( 2008-09 ) that the phenomenon Hasheem Thabeet exploded completely.
Beyond the statistics, however impressive, that spoke of a double-double average ( 13.6 pts and 10.8 rbd ), Thabeet appeared to be switched to a higher level. The January 31, 2009 , in the game against Providence College did score his first triple-double ( 15 pts ,11 rbd and 10 blk ), and the closure of its regular season blocked shots totaled152 . He won the title again the Big East's Defensive Player or the Year , and also that of the Big East's co-Player of the Year , in partnership with DeJuan Blair of the University of Pittsburgh .
But the ride UConn (which that year could also count on the freshman Kemba Walker in the control room), and Hasheem Thabeet, did not stop. On March 26, the Tanzanian center reached the milestone of 1,000 points (in that season we had arrived Jerome Dyson and AJ Price) in the match against Perdue , and dragged the team to the Final Four , the first in that the Conncticut since 2004 . On April 4, 2009 , however, in Detroit, UConn faced a rock too hard: the Michigan State of Kalin Lucas and Draymond Green . TheHuskies came out defeated from that game to 82-73 , and the worst performance was precisely to Thabeet that despite 17 pts and 6 rbd , gave the impression of being completely out of the game, reeling in many of the key actions of the match .
But after all, these were merely a game, and now Hasheem had seen what he was capable of doing. He felt ready. Nell ' April 2009 he decided to give up his last year of college and groped the big jump: he declared himself eligible for theNBA Draft .
The year 2008/09 was a special season for the NBA. The return of the Hornetsin the former home of New Orleans after the exile caused by Hurricane Katrina had left a void in Oklahoma City , which had proved a warm and passionate market. After long negotiations the League had decided to award ardor, and had consented to the change of venue of the Seattle SuperSonics , who, leaving the state of Washington, you accasarono in Oklahoma with all their assetts , new colors, and a new name: Oklahoma City Thunder .
For the first time since season 1966/67 , there would be an NBA franchise in the city of Seattle. But theThunder were still an immature team, led by a young Kevin Durant , in his second year in the league, and a Russell Westbrook straight out of UCLA . The Team coach was PJ Carlesimo but started the season with a dramatic 1-12record. He was replaced by Scott Brooks , but only partially improved results:OKC won the other 22 games, compared with 47 defeats, occurring at the end of season with the overall record of 23-59 .
But former Sonics were not the only team in difficulty. The Sacramento Kings had faced the year with a roster that was impossible to define competitive, and the coach Reggie Theus had borne the brunt when, after 24 games, the team record still recited 6-18 . In its placeKenny Natt had no better luck, sealing a 11-47 which resulted in a sad 17-65final for Californians. Even the less noble side of LA, the one brand Clippers , not doing very well: Mike Dunleavy had not managed to go beyond the 19-63 a group of good players like Baron Davis , Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby and the two rookies Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan .
Youth problems, similar to those that plagued OKC, they had also experienced the Memphis Grizzlies with a core of players consists of Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry (both in their third year in the league), the sophomore Javaris Crittenton and Mike Conley and rookieMarc Gasol and OJ Mayo , had reached only share 24 wins , against 58 defeats .The poor performance of the team had made the charges before Mark Iavaroni(fired on record 11-30 ) and then the ferryman Johnny Davis (0-2 for him), before the Grizzlies would pass into the hands of Lionel Hollins .
Needless to specify these were the franchises with more chances of getting the first choice in a draft that was announced as absolutely promising. The urn of the Draft Lottery decreed that the Kings would have chosen to quarters , while the third choice would be the property of the Thunder . The Clippers had finally won for the premiere of Memphis , which had thus settle for choice # 2 .
So it was that on the night of June 25, 2009 all franchises gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York , ready to join the ranks of the professional league with all of the world's most exciting young basketball landscape, all with their hopes, their dreams , their trepidation. The Clippers , for example, were the owners of a vision: a vision called Lob City .
It inherited the wonderful idea that was of yellow-purple cousins to bring Chris Paul on ' Hollywood Boulevard , the GM of Angelenos decided to stake everything on a wing from the awful strong athleticism coming out of Oklahoma University , a guy named Blake Griffin with an uncommon ability to crush the ball to the basket. Immediately after them, however, the Memphis Grizzlies remained holding a rose very interesting names from which to choose. GM franchise of Tennessee, Chris Wallace , did not trust his battery long. Beyond Hakim Warrick and Marc Gasol , who had given the encouraging signs in statistical terms, none of the various Darko Milicic and Hamed Haddadi gave the right security as a backup location in thepivot .
For this the eye of the Grizzlies he fell to the mammoth and long-limbed figure Hasheem Thabeet . And so was fulfilled the Tanzanian Giant fairy tale, from the dusty streets of Dar es Salaam to the main door of the NBA, chose the# 2 of the Draft.
After him, the Oklahoma City Thunder chose James Harden to # 3 , theSacramento Kings brought home Tyreke Evans to # 4 , the Golden State Warriors used the choice # 7 for a certain Stephen Curry , the # 17 thePhiladelphia 76ers draftarono Jrue Holiday and # 19 of the Atlanta Hawks tookJeff Teague .
He began a new, exciting chapter in the career of Hasheem Thabeet and the young Tanzanian could only be over the moon to that occasion. He had arrived in the elite of world basketball, he, the boy up to 15 years had never known what it was a ball into wedges, and also was the first native player of Tanzania failed in an NBA expanding that was set to becoming increasingly global .
But soon the giant must have realized that dream was not going the way he had hoped.Memphis sent Quentin Richardson to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange forZach Randolph , and the arrival of the native long Marion , Indiana, would close the space to him, despite all his 221 cm and frightening wingspan. Had elbowing harder and harder to stand out. It would have been much more difficult. All damn hard. Thabeet noticed definitely the day of its official debut in the NBA. It was 28 October 2009 and the Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Detroit Pistons , but despite the support of the fans, the men of Lionel Hollins heavily lost to 94-76 . Thabeet played 19 minutes , putting on the scoresheet only two defensive rebounds . A statline rather miserable for second best NBA. He began the nightmare.
Despite that debutshock some spark of good (to excellent traits) of playercolleges thatHasheem Thabeethad been turned out also upstairs. TheDecember 13, 2009he scored 5 pts , 5 rbd and 5 blk (season-high in this entry), with 100%from the field in the victory of the Grizzlies 118-90 on the Miami Heat . But it was the highest peak of a season that Hasheem could not take off.
The February 25, 2010 , after months of stunted performance, the ' establishment of the Grizzlies took a serious decision, and assigned Hasheem Thabeet to the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League . It was, in its way, a momentous fact: Thabeet became the tallest player in the development league, and he also took the unenviable record of being the choice to Draft highest in history to finish in the D-League (a record of which , only last year, it is appropriate Anthony Bennett , a former first overall pick in the 2013 Draft ).
That experience was short-lived, though, because already the ' March 8, 2010 the Grizzlies recalled their Titan, to end the season. A season that Thabeetbrought him figures little comforting: 3.1 pts , 3.6 rbd and 1.3 blk in 68 games , including 13 as a starter . Throughout the year the Tanzanian scored a total of77 field goals , with a realization percentage of 59% . A misery . It seemed to be one of the blunders of the history of the Draft.
The following year,Memphis granted 45 matches to Hasheem Thabeet for groped to get a redemption that never came: 8.2 minutes, seasoned by 1.2 pts , 1.6 rbd and 0.3 blk . It was too much. The February 24, 2011 Memphis got rid of him, sending him to theHouston Rockets along with a future first choice in the draft, in exchange forShane Battier and Ish Smith . So Hasheem Thabeet continued to sink.
On 21 March 2011 the Rockets assigned him to Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League , only to call it the ' April 11th . Granted him only two matches in which the Tanzanian did record a statline completely empty, it was not for a stubble.And the situation did not improve the following year, when Houston sent down Thabeet on the floor only 5 times , with a haul of 1.2 pts , 1.4 rbd and 0.4 blk .His adventure in Texas, never really began, ended on March 15, 2012 , when - in the company of Johnny Flynn (coincidentally another poor choice of Draft 2009) and a future second choice - set off in the direction of Portland , in exchange for Marcus Camby .
An experience in Oregon that was not any better than the other: Thabeet put together 15 appearances (three starts), 1.9 pts , 2.3 rbd and 0.5 blk . No one was surprised when, at the end of the year, theTrail Blazers decided not to exercise the option on his contract. But despite everything someone believed in him, and that someone was Sam Presti : l ' July 11, 2012 Hasheem Thabeet signed a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder . To OKC Thabeet would become a Titan in search of redemption, for OKC would return to be the Giant was born in Cradle of Life.
He was reborn. He touched the field, much more often than he did in the previous three years, and with better results.
And then finally the day came. It wasNovember 26, 2012 , the Thunder faced the Charlotte Bobcats . Hasheem Thabeet played just under 27 minutes .He tried 6 shots for a field goal and itmarked 5 . We also added three free throws . He took three offensive rebounds , pulled down other 7 on defense . He placed a stubble . He closed with 13 pts ( career high ) and 10 rbd . It was his first double-double in the NBA . OKC won 114-69 .
If Tanzania had an epic in the sense that we Westerners give to the term, this would be the high point of that epic: there would still bards and reciters around to sing the Gloria . But it was the last summit, the highest that Thabeet could never climb. Remained in Oklahoma City for two seasons, also tasting the thin air of the Playoffs (six games played in two postseason ), before the ' establishment of the franchise he considered expendable: the 26 August 2014 was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a future second choice and a trade exception .
But in the City of Brotherly Love, Hasheem Thabeet , the Giant Tanzanian, he never played: he was cut on September 1 of that year. He tried to get back on track, signing a contract with the Detroit Pistons on September 25 , but also the Motown men did not see how it could be useful to the team, and cut on October 20, before the start of the season. For Hasheem Thabeet , Titan now defeated, nothing remained but choose to still orbit the NBA, waiting and hoping for the call.
InNovember 2014 he was hired by the Grand Rapids Drive , a team of D-Leagueaffiliate to Pistons , and 49 games amounted EUR 8.6 pts and 6.2 rbd connected to shoe. In July 2015 he served on the Select Team of D-League for the Summer League . The call has not yet arrived, but despite all Hasheem Thabeet continues to wait. It's still an athlete of 29 years, extraordinarily high, extraordinarily muscular. He has no intention of retiring.
In Tanzania Hasheem Thabeet is still a character on the border between legend and reality, and this not so much for its rare feats on a basketball court, but for his extraordinary generosity . From what is privileged, Thabeet has never forgotten the dusty streets of Dar es Salaam and the daily struggle that you have to bear in order to live there, in the Cradle of Life .
Foundations and initiatives that inaugurated serve to make that fight a little 'less bloody, and perhaps it is precisely for this reason, more than for the stature or broad shoulders that Hasheem Thabeet is still, despite everything, a Giant. A Giant that has arisen , which has fallen .
But that has never collapsed .
of Simone Simeoni , @simeoni_simone 24/07/2016, 15:00
10 Be first to comment!
credits to: bongo5.com via Google
" Watapanda na kushuka
Na wataanguka kweli!
Wakisukumwa na wa Upepo wakati! "
I try to imagine the wonder of a player who, by opening an article about basketball, you stand in front of three lines of gibberish. The immediate impression should be that of a blunder. Maybe it's the wrong item - you might think - because these three lines do not seem to have a meaning, indeed: they seem to be rather one of those clumsy childish attempts to put together syllables at random for groped to make himself understood by adults. Or it may seem like an alien language taken from some daring science fiction movie. But it is not an error, and the article on basketball that you have opened really begins with three lines of gibberish. Appearances, however, can be deceiving, because what might seem a triplet in Clingan taken from an episode Star Trek: The Next Generation , it is actually something much simpler and - in his own way - family. It is a foreign language . A little known language, with which Westerners generally do not have (or do not dare to have) very familiar. But a language which allowsalmost ninety million people to communicate , to meet, to make friends, to discuss, to argue. It is the Swahili , the lingua franca of Black Africa. A business language, a language created to be functional, a language " artificial ". But also a language like this, when it becomes an expression of such a great human community, ends up developing its own literature , its poetry , its own way to bring forth the inherent beauty of the word. And so it happened to Swahili , which has experienced a great literary production, which has its beating heart inTanzania . And besides, the most famous author in language Swahili is just the Tanzanian Euphrase Kezilahabi , the poet which belong those three incomprehensible verses that opened this article. What, then, those words mean? It is not simple render certain sense, but a fairly significant translation would be:
" Arise and fall
And really plummeted
Guided by the winds of time. "
Kezilahabi did not know that by writing these words in 1974 , was prophetically describing the parable of a man, another Tanzanian, which is the focus of this article. Rise and fall. Get up, shaking the dust off before falling back on his knees.Two verbs, two concepts, which are sufficient to deliver an idea rather than a concrete history of a person in his being a basketball player. Two words that do not exhaust, but outline it clearly, and perhaps a little 'depressing, of lifeHasheem Thabeet .
It was February 16, 1987 in Dar es Salaam , when Mrs. Rukia Manka , recently widowed Mr. Thabit Manka gave birth to a male child. Rukia chose for her son a name of Arab ancestry from very strong meaning: Hashim Thabit , " the Destroyer of Evil ." An important role as the one given by the mother of that name, a role that he would need the right physique du role . But fortunatelyHashim Thabit Manka was high - very high - so much so that even as a child stood out above all his peers. A little giant Hashim , forced to grow into one of the most inhospitable environments in the world: a large African metropolis .
Dar es Salaam was no longer, at least nominally, the capital of Tanzania , but continued to be the most populous city of this great state of East Africa, and had all the merits and defects. It was certainly not an easy life, but Hashim was, in its way, a privileged: he attended the Mlimani Primary School , a structure does not exactly cutting edge, but still have a lot more than what the majority of his peers could afford . After successfully completing their primary education, the young Thabit also passed by Makongo Secondary School. But these privileges the young Hashim Thabit if it was more than earned. He took active part in the maintenance of the family, taking advantage of the unique physical as model , thus helping Rukia mother to fend for her sister Sham and his brother Akbar .
And despite everything, Hashim Thabit Manka still found the energy to thesport . Just thirteen year took part in a half marathon , as if to take a road, the athletics and endurance races in particular, on which the Africans are undisputed rulers. But the race was not for him, a guy looking for a more rapid pace. So he decided to try the most popular sport in Tanzania: the football . And despite the long levers he was pretty good. Good enough to seem like moving toward a possible career that would take him to play in one of the two great team soccer Tanzanians, the Yanga or Simba . But something got in the way. It was a basketball game in which the young Hashim witnessed by chance in Dar es Salaam. He had fifteen years . And after that game they were more, and more.Hashim Thabit did not know, but he was falling in love the ball into wedges. He decided to try it too, so tall and powerful as it was, seemed the ideal profile for the sport. It was the right choice. The best of his entire life.
At that time the family moved from Tanzania to Kenya , in Nairobi , where Hashim began attending the Laiser Hill Academy . He played basketball for a very short time, but he had a very deep understanding of the game, and quickly learned. Improved visibly, day after day, with walk worthy of the giant he was.And then someone noticed him. A group of Americans on vacation in Kenya stopped to watch a game and he was there, towering and slender, a Titan that towered over his companions. They were electrocuted. At the end of the match Hashim was seen approaching from these pale tourists and proposed to go to the United States , to learn to play better and better. They said that they have the necessary knowledge in a high school .
So it was that Hashim Thabit, who in the Stateswould have adapted his name to Hasheem Thabeet , his bags and left Africa to go and to marry in Houston , Texas, the Cypress Christian School . It was a revelation. The boy had some room for improvement frightening, everybody realized, and was the subject of college basketball .Sure, there were also the classic problems of adjustment, because when Hasheem Thabeet reached the United States was able to speak fluently the Swahili and French , but did not know that a few syllables in English. A considerable barrier, linguistic, yet after seeing recruiters would be ready to teach Swahili to the rest of the team just to have him. In 2006 a 19 year old Hasheem Thabeet just graduated, and taken the hard road he had chosen, that of the basketball player.
That year at the University of Connecticut was the legendary Jim Calhoun , coach of the Huskies by two decades. The curriculum vitae of Calhoun was impressive, and spoke (at the time) to two NCAA titles taken home, in 1999 and 2004 of a National Invitation Tournament dated 1988 as well as several other collegiate basketball titles. But his creature - UConn - per hour was the turning point.
The Draft 2006 the Houston Rockets had selected Rudy Gay , the clearest talent of his roster, leaving the team in an emergency.They served fresh forces alongside Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie , who have now reached their year senior , but fortunately therecruiting class that year was full of exciting prospects. Calhoun moved carefully, selecting only profiles extremely interesting thought: came the English small forward Ben Eaves (actually not quite memorable) and with him the strong wings Curtis Kelly and Stanley Robinson , but mostly came a deadly shooting guard who He responded to the nameJerome Dyson (a particularly well-known name in that of Sassari). With the return of AJ Price - he had joined in 2004 , but had been stopped for two years by an arteriovenous malformation of the brain - only one piece was missing from the roster of UConn: a dominant center.
Calhoun looked around, and his attention was literally magnetized by the African giant that dominated the painted of ' high school basketball . So it was that Hasheem Thabeet enrolled at UConn , to be molded by the expert hands of a coach Hall of Famer .
Hasheem Thabeet with the shirt of UConn ; credits to: daytondailynews.com via Google
The first year in that Connecticut was indeed a success: Thabeet amounted EUR-minute major, putting together more than interesting figures, especially - is granted - under the heading blocked shots ( 3.8 per game during the year, to dress the 6.2 pts connected to shoe ). On 3 December 2006 also Thabeet wrote his name in the early history of UConn equaling the team record for blocked shots in a single game, well 10 , placed in face-to- Texas Southern in a resounding victory by 106-55 .
UConn dominated the regualr season of the Big East , winning the Conference , and Thabeet , along with Dyson , was named in the best quintet of rookies. It was the beginning of a successful career. In its year sophomore Thabeet earned another space, and rewarded coach Calhoun with a season to 10.5 pts, 7.9 rbd and 4.5 blk connected to shoe, marking the second time the peak of 10 blocked shots , this time in an effortloser, on January 5, 2008 , when theHuskies were defeated 73-67 by Notre Dame . At the end of the season he could not help but win the title asDefensive Player of the Year in the Big East conferece , and was also included in the second best quintet. But he was in his year junior ( 2008-09 ) that the phenomenon Hasheem Thabeet exploded completely.
Beyond the statistics, however impressive, that spoke of a double-double average ( 13.6 pts and 10.8 rbd ), Thabeet appeared to be switched to a higher level. The January 31, 2009 , in the game against Providence College did score his first triple-double ( 15 pts ,11 rbd and 10 blk ), and the closure of its regular season blocked shots totaled152 . He won the title again the Big East's Defensive Player or the Year , and also that of the Big East's co-Player of the Year , in partnership with DeJuan Blair of the University of Pittsburgh .
But the ride UConn (which that year could also count on the freshman Kemba Walker in the control room), and Hasheem Thabeet, did not stop. On March 26, the Tanzanian center reached the milestone of 1,000 points (in that season we had arrived Jerome Dyson and AJ Price) in the match against Perdue , and dragged the team to the Final Four , the first in that the Conncticut since 2004 . On April 4, 2009 , however, in Detroit, UConn faced a rock too hard: the Michigan State of Kalin Lucas and Draymond Green . TheHuskies came out defeated from that game to 82-73 , and the worst performance was precisely to Thabeet that despite 17 pts and 6 rbd , gave the impression of being completely out of the game, reeling in many of the key actions of the match .
But after all, these were merely a game, and now Hasheem had seen what he was capable of doing. He felt ready. Nell ' April 2009 he decided to give up his last year of college and groped the big jump: he declared himself eligible for theNBA Draft .
The year 2008/09 was a special season for the NBA. The return of the Hornetsin the former home of New Orleans after the exile caused by Hurricane Katrina had left a void in Oklahoma City , which had proved a warm and passionate market. After long negotiations the League had decided to award ardor, and had consented to the change of venue of the Seattle SuperSonics , who, leaving the state of Washington, you accasarono in Oklahoma with all their assetts , new colors, and a new name: Oklahoma City Thunder .
For the first time since season 1966/67 , there would be an NBA franchise in the city of Seattle. But theThunder were still an immature team, led by a young Kevin Durant , in his second year in the league, and a Russell Westbrook straight out of UCLA . The Team coach was PJ Carlesimo but started the season with a dramatic 1-12record. He was replaced by Scott Brooks , but only partially improved results:OKC won the other 22 games, compared with 47 defeats, occurring at the end of season with the overall record of 23-59 .
But former Sonics were not the only team in difficulty. The Sacramento Kings had faced the year with a roster that was impossible to define competitive, and the coach Reggie Theus had borne the brunt when, after 24 games, the team record still recited 6-18 . In its placeKenny Natt had no better luck, sealing a 11-47 which resulted in a sad 17-65final for Californians. Even the less noble side of LA, the one brand Clippers , not doing very well: Mike Dunleavy had not managed to go beyond the 19-63 a group of good players like Baron Davis , Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby and the two rookies Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan .
Youth problems, similar to those that plagued OKC, they had also experienced the Memphis Grizzlies with a core of players consists of Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry (both in their third year in the league), the sophomore Javaris Crittenton and Mike Conley and rookieMarc Gasol and OJ Mayo , had reached only share 24 wins , against 58 defeats .The poor performance of the team had made the charges before Mark Iavaroni(fired on record 11-30 ) and then the ferryman Johnny Davis (0-2 for him), before the Grizzlies would pass into the hands of Lionel Hollins .
Needless to specify these were the franchises with more chances of getting the first choice in a draft that was announced as absolutely promising. The urn of the Draft Lottery decreed that the Kings would have chosen to quarters , while the third choice would be the property of the Thunder . The Clippers had finally won for the premiere of Memphis , which had thus settle for choice # 2 .
So it was that on the night of June 25, 2009 all franchises gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York , ready to join the ranks of the professional league with all of the world's most exciting young basketball landscape, all with their hopes, their dreams , their trepidation. The Clippers , for example, were the owners of a vision: a vision called Lob City .
It inherited the wonderful idea that was of yellow-purple cousins to bring Chris Paul on ' Hollywood Boulevard , the GM of Angelenos decided to stake everything on a wing from the awful strong athleticism coming out of Oklahoma University , a guy named Blake Griffin with an uncommon ability to crush the ball to the basket. Immediately after them, however, the Memphis Grizzlies remained holding a rose very interesting names from which to choose. GM franchise of Tennessee, Chris Wallace , did not trust his battery long. Beyond Hakim Warrick and Marc Gasol , who had given the encouraging signs in statistical terms, none of the various Darko Milicic and Hamed Haddadi gave the right security as a backup location in thepivot .
For this the eye of the Grizzlies he fell to the mammoth and long-limbed figure Hasheem Thabeet . And so was fulfilled the Tanzanian Giant fairy tale, from the dusty streets of Dar es Salaam to the main door of the NBA, chose the# 2 of the Draft.
After him, the Oklahoma City Thunder chose James Harden to # 3 , theSacramento Kings brought home Tyreke Evans to # 4 , the Golden State Warriors used the choice # 7 for a certain Stephen Curry , the # 17 thePhiladelphia 76ers draftarono Jrue Holiday and # 19 of the Atlanta Hawks tookJeff Teague .
He began a new, exciting chapter in the career of Hasheem Thabeet and the young Tanzanian could only be over the moon to that occasion. He had arrived in the elite of world basketball, he, the boy up to 15 years had never known what it was a ball into wedges, and also was the first native player of Tanzania failed in an NBA expanding that was set to becoming increasingly global .
But soon the giant must have realized that dream was not going the way he had hoped.Memphis sent Quentin Richardson to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange forZach Randolph , and the arrival of the native long Marion , Indiana, would close the space to him, despite all his 221 cm and frightening wingspan. Had elbowing harder and harder to stand out. It would have been much more difficult. All damn hard. Thabeet noticed definitely the day of its official debut in the NBA. It was 28 October 2009 and the Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Detroit Pistons , but despite the support of the fans, the men of Lionel Hollins heavily lost to 94-76 . Thabeet played 19 minutes , putting on the scoresheet only two defensive rebounds . A statline rather miserable for second best NBA. He began the nightmare.
Despite that debutshock some spark of good (to excellent traits) of playercolleges thatHasheem Thabeethad been turned out also upstairs. TheDecember 13, 2009he scored 5 pts , 5 rbd and 5 blk (season-high in this entry), with 100%from the field in the victory of the Grizzlies 118-90 on the Miami Heat . But it was the highest peak of a season that Hasheem could not take off.
The February 25, 2010 , after months of stunted performance, the ' establishment of the Grizzlies took a serious decision, and assigned Hasheem Thabeet to the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League . It was, in its way, a momentous fact: Thabeet became the tallest player in the development league, and he also took the unenviable record of being the choice to Draft highest in history to finish in the D-League (a record of which , only last year, it is appropriate Anthony Bennett , a former first overall pick in the 2013 Draft ).
That experience was short-lived, though, because already the ' March 8, 2010 the Grizzlies recalled their Titan, to end the season. A season that Thabeetbrought him figures little comforting: 3.1 pts , 3.6 rbd and 1.3 blk in 68 games , including 13 as a starter . Throughout the year the Tanzanian scored a total of77 field goals , with a realization percentage of 59% . A misery . It seemed to be one of the blunders of the history of the Draft.
The following year,Memphis granted 45 matches to Hasheem Thabeet for groped to get a redemption that never came: 8.2 minutes, seasoned by 1.2 pts , 1.6 rbd and 0.3 blk . It was too much. The February 24, 2011 Memphis got rid of him, sending him to theHouston Rockets along with a future first choice in the draft, in exchange forShane Battier and Ish Smith . So Hasheem Thabeet continued to sink.
On 21 March 2011 the Rockets assigned him to Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League , only to call it the ' April 11th . Granted him only two matches in which the Tanzanian did record a statline completely empty, it was not for a stubble.And the situation did not improve the following year, when Houston sent down Thabeet on the floor only 5 times , with a haul of 1.2 pts , 1.4 rbd and 0.4 blk .His adventure in Texas, never really began, ended on March 15, 2012 , when - in the company of Johnny Flynn (coincidentally another poor choice of Draft 2009) and a future second choice - set off in the direction of Portland , in exchange for Marcus Camby .
An experience in Oregon that was not any better than the other: Thabeet put together 15 appearances (three starts), 1.9 pts , 2.3 rbd and 0.5 blk . No one was surprised when, at the end of the year, theTrail Blazers decided not to exercise the option on his contract. But despite everything someone believed in him, and that someone was Sam Presti : l ' July 11, 2012 Hasheem Thabeet signed a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder . To OKC Thabeet would become a Titan in search of redemption, for OKC would return to be the Giant was born in Cradle of Life.
He was reborn. He touched the field, much more often than he did in the previous three years, and with better results.
And then finally the day came. It wasNovember 26, 2012 , the Thunder faced the Charlotte Bobcats . Hasheem Thabeet played just under 27 minutes .He tried 6 shots for a field goal and itmarked 5 . We also added three free throws . He took three offensive rebounds , pulled down other 7 on defense . He placed a stubble . He closed with 13 pts ( career high ) and 10 rbd . It was his first double-double in the NBA . OKC won 114-69 .
If Tanzania had an epic in the sense that we Westerners give to the term, this would be the high point of that epic: there would still bards and reciters around to sing the Gloria . But it was the last summit, the highest that Thabeet could never climb. Remained in Oklahoma City for two seasons, also tasting the thin air of the Playoffs (six games played in two postseason ), before the ' establishment of the franchise he considered expendable: the 26 August 2014 was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a future second choice and a trade exception .
But in the City of Brotherly Love, Hasheem Thabeet , the Giant Tanzanian, he never played: he was cut on September 1 of that year. He tried to get back on track, signing a contract with the Detroit Pistons on September 25 , but also the Motown men did not see how it could be useful to the team, and cut on October 20, before the start of the season. For Hasheem Thabeet , Titan now defeated, nothing remained but choose to still orbit the NBA, waiting and hoping for the call.
InNovember 2014 he was hired by the Grand Rapids Drive , a team of D-Leagueaffiliate to Pistons , and 49 games amounted EUR 8.6 pts and 6.2 rbd connected to shoe. In July 2015 he served on the Select Team of D-League for the Summer League . The call has not yet arrived, but despite all Hasheem Thabeet continues to wait. It's still an athlete of 29 years, extraordinarily high, extraordinarily muscular. He has no intention of retiring.
In Tanzania Hasheem Thabeet is still a character on the border between legend and reality, and this not so much for its rare feats on a basketball court, but for his extraordinary generosity . From what is privileged, Thabeet has never forgotten the dusty streets of Dar es Salaam and the daily struggle that you have to bear in order to live there, in the Cradle of Life .
Foundations and initiatives that inaugurated serve to make that fight a little 'less bloody, and perhaps it is precisely for this reason, more than for the stature or broad shoulders that Hasheem Thabeet is still, despite everything, a Giant. A Giant that has arisen , which has fallen .
But that has never collapsed .
intlzncster
i fart in your general direction
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Didn't read the article, but that title is glorious.
C
Chief00
Quite frankly, I have three memories of Thabeet.
1) The day he visited UConn and how tall he was. I think Andrew Bynum was the only recruit that was bigger by my eyes.
2) One comment he made - sometimes I still think about today when I am driving. He said the thing that really impressed him about the USA was the interstate highway system - something we take for granted - but it really made an impression on him. He also was amazed at drive thru windows - how you could order and within a minute or two your food order would be ready.
3) The great Jim Calhoun Effect - Just my guess - but the most important thing he learned at UConn was to help the less fortunate - looks like he has done a lot for charity back home - Jim taught the young man well.
1) The day he visited UConn and how tall he was. I think Andrew Bynum was the only recruit that was bigger by my eyes.
2) One comment he made - sometimes I still think about today when I am driving. He said the thing that really impressed him about the USA was the interstate highway system - something we take for granted - but it really made an impression on him. He also was amazed at drive thru windows - how you could order and within a minute or two your food order would be ready.
3) The great Jim Calhoun Effect - Just my guess - but the most important thing he learned at UConn was to help the less fortunate - looks like he has done a lot for charity back home - Jim taught the young man well.
CTBasketball
Former Owner of the Pizza Thread
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Kinda of a sad article, but also filled with inaccuracies and speculation. Chief you should apply for a columnist position at that paper.
C
Chief00
Oh come on ! When a 20 year old plays for a guy who gets the entire team involved in charity - handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving, gifts to kids at Christmas and Alumnae charity games - and then the young man does similar stuff and I say "just my guess " he learned to help the less fortunate from Coach and you come down with all this Calhoun Hate - get over it!
CTBasketball
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I am surprised you didn't say "quite frankly" in your post. But I agree - I was pulling your legs apart.
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First time, long time...etc etc.
I spent some years in Tanzania as a teacher at the International School there, in the capitol city of Dar Es Salaam. Its a beautiful, gracious country with great people, nevermind the tourist attractions of Mt Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti Plains, Great Rift Valley, and Ngorongoro Crater, to name a few.
You haven't lived until you've witnessed the great migration of wilderbeast as they try to cross a croc-infested river, while dodging lions and other predators along the route. I remember sitting in a van with about 15 other people, mesmerized as the thundering hooves grew louder. And not more than 50 feet away, 100's of animals went running past. I still get chills thinking about it! Its also a very stable democracy, with regular elections and no coups or dictators since independence.
Thabeet is a national hero there because he was the first from that area of Africa to play in the NBA, and because of his charitable works. UConn is considered a national favorite team because of that fact. Kids grow up wanting to go to UConn just like "Thabiti", though UNC comes in a close 2nd because of the MJ connection.
It stands to reason that if another diamond in the rough comes out of that region, UConn would likely be the favorite to get his services, mostly because of Thabeet.
I spent some years in Tanzania as a teacher at the International School there, in the capitol city of Dar Es Salaam. Its a beautiful, gracious country with great people, nevermind the tourist attractions of Mt Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti Plains, Great Rift Valley, and Ngorongoro Crater, to name a few.
You haven't lived until you've witnessed the great migration of wilderbeast as they try to cross a croc-infested river, while dodging lions and other predators along the route. I remember sitting in a van with about 15 other people, mesmerized as the thundering hooves grew louder. And not more than 50 feet away, 100's of animals went running past. I still get chills thinking about it! Its also a very stable democracy, with regular elections and no coups or dictators since independence.
Thabeet is a national hero there because he was the first from that area of Africa to play in the NBA, and because of his charitable works. UConn is considered a national favorite team because of that fact. Kids grow up wanting to go to UConn just like "Thabiti", though UNC comes in a close 2nd because of the MJ connection.
It stands to reason that if another diamond in the rough comes out of that region, UConn would likely be the favorite to get his services, mostly because of Thabeet.
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Great guy, great kid and really good Husky. Not sure how people can still harp on the fact he just didn't have what it takes for the NBA, he's not the first. Look at the good he does, he has what it takes for his country and that's pretty much comes from JC and the kids heart.
Dream Jobbed 2.0
“Most definitely”
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One of my group of friends favorite legends from college goes as follows:
Thabeet just walks into my buddy's place in Hilltop Apartments and helps himself to a few shots during some pre gaming. Obviously everyone knows who he is but no one really knows him. He says "Hello , I am your neighbor Hasheem. Be safe tonight."
Dude never saw him again.
Thabeet just walks into my buddy's place in Hilltop Apartments and helps himself to a few shots during some pre gaming. Obviously everyone knows who he is but no one really knows him. He says "Hello , I am your neighbor Hasheem. Be safe tonight."
Dude never saw him again.
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Funny stuff. He just seems like that fun loving guy. I bet of they reached out and asked him to come by whenever he would've shown up again.
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I like this part of the article;
"A group of Americans on vacation in Kenya stopped to watch a game and he was there, towering and slender, a Titan that towered over his companions. They were electrocuted. "
- I'm no Kenyan law scholar, but seems like an awfully harsh punishment just for stopping to watch,
"A group of Americans on vacation in Kenya stopped to watch a game and he was there, towering and slender, a Titan that towered over his companions. They were electrocuted. "
- I'm no Kenyan law scholar, but seems like an awfully harsh punishment just for stopping to watch,
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