Hasheem Thabeet: The Tanzanian Phenom

[Ab-Titchaz]

No. 2 Connecticut routs Providence 94-61​

By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press Writer
3 hours, 43 minutes ago

STORRS, Conn. (AP)—Hasheem Thabeet said he was surprised Providence kept trying to challenge him inside.

Thabeet tied a school record by blocking 10 shots and recorded his first career triple-double as No. 2 Connecticut staked its claim to the No. 1 spot in the nation with a 94-61 blowout over the Friars on Saturday.

The 7-foot-3 junior had 15 points and 11 rebounds, seven on the offensive glass.

“They keep coming, and I tell them, ‘No you’re not going to get an easy shot today,”’ Thabeet said. “They kept coming, and I kept blocking and that was why I was effective today.”

A.J. Price led UConn (20-1, 9-1 Big East) with 19 points, while Stanley Robinson added 18 and Jeff Adrien 14. It was the Huskies’ ninth straight win since losing to Georgetown in the conference opener on Dec. 29.

With No. 1 Duke losing earlier in the week to No. 6 Wake Forest and No. 3 Pittsburgh falling to Villanova, UConn is expected to take the top spot in Monday’s poll.

“We’re not No. 1 and so I don’t plan on reading the papers or certainly reading the polls until 9 p.m. on Monday night, so I don’t know what you’re talking about,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun joked. “It’s just a number that goes by quickly. But if there are 343 teams playing in the country and at some point in the season, especially 21 games into the season … it’s nice. No more. No less.”

Randall Hanke had 16 points to lead Providence (14-7, 6-3), which was coming off a win over No. 15 Syracuse and was off to its best start in the Big East since opening 7-2 in 2000-01.

The Friars had been shooting almost 39 percent from 3-point range over the past nine games and were averaging almost 81 points a game.

The Friars were just 5-of-15 from behind the arc on Saturday.

“We’re not a team that can rely on one part of our game,” first-year coach Keno Davis said. “If a team’s going to come out and take away 3-point shots, we’ve got to be able to drive and get to the free throw line.”

It was the third time Thabeet had 10 blocks in a game. Emeka Okafor and Donyell Marshall are the other players to do that for Connecticut.

The Huskies broke open a close game by scoring the first 11 points of the second half, part of a 15-0 run, highlighted by a block by a block by Thabeet and a 3-pointer by Robinson at the other end.

Providence was held without a point for almost 4 minutes, before Marshon Brooks hit a 3-pointer to make it 49-37.

The Huskies went on a 20-0 run later in the half that made it 84-51, and the fans began chanting “Number One.”

“We’re so happy,” Thabeet said. “We worked so hard, and have won a lot of games in row. We’re just trying to stay together as much as possible. We’re just happy right now.”

Weyinmi Efejuku, who came in averaging over 13 points a game, finished with seven for the Friars and fouled out with 7:40 left.

There were 10 lead changes and three ties in the first half. UConn went inside early, with Thabeet and Adrien scoring eight of its first 14 points.

They led 32-25 with just over 6 minutes left in the half, but Jonathan Kale and Hanke led the Friars on a 9-2 run to tie the game.

UConn had 10 blocked shots in the first half, five by Thabeet, and led 38-34. The triple-double was the seventh in school history.

The Friars came in having won thee straight over Connecticut and five of the last seven games between the schools, including the last four on the road.

The win was the Huskies’ first at home over Providence since a 67-56 win on Feb. 5, 2002, their longest home losing streak against a conference opponent since they snapped a seven-game streak against St. John’s in 1988.

The win sets up a showdown between UConn and No. 7 Louisville on Monday in Freedom Hall. The Cardinals beat West Virginia 69-63 to remain unbeaten in the Big East.

“You don’t want to be No. 1 for a day,” Calhoun said.

Connecticut’s women have been ranked No. 1 all season, and this would be the first time both teams have held the top spot since they both won national titles in 2004.

[media]http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=200901310129&prov=ap[/media]

 

[Icadon]

Hii game mpaka mwisho wa 1st half ilikuwa close kinoma na Providence wamewakunyuga sana Huskies kwa season mbili tatu zilizopita...i was like hawata-survive, kumbe ilikuwa nguvu ya soda tu!! Watoto wa Storrs wanatisha sana msimu huu!! Eboooo, Kama Chelsea vile na/au Yanga jinsi wanavyokandamiza.....teh teh teh! Wenye wivu mkajinyonge!!

Hapo kwenye buluu na [ma]njano umeharibu sasa. Vipi kesho kwenye Superbowl wewe umechagua nani?

 

[Mujuni2]

mi jina tuu ndio limeniacha hoi Hashim Thabit (Hasheem Thabeet) Kama Baraka(Barack) bado kasumba inatusumbua

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Hapo kwenye buluu na [ma]njano umeharibu sasa. Vipi kesho kwenye Superbowl wewe umechagua nani?

Aloo...hapajakoseka kitu hapo.

Kila mtu analia Steelers lakini naona itakua kama mwaka jana Patriots vs NY Giants na ngoma ikacheua.

 

[Icadon]

Twi twi twi twi wewe usinichekeshe...mimi ni Yanga damu na nazimia Chelsea toka enzi za Rudd (kocha mchezaji)!!!

Mie nataka Cardinals, kisa Kurt Warner jamaa ananikumbusha enzi za St. Louis Rams (my hometown team)..enzi hizo za late 90's early 00's jinsi walivyokuwa wanatesa na Marshall Faulk!! unakumbuka?? Prez kasema Steelers, lakini imekaa kisiasa zaidi! So booooo WH, go Cardinals!! Tunasubiri big party pale Paradise City.

Ubovu wenyewe nitaiangalia game kazini huku nikibeba boksi kwa furaha....hahahahaha!!

Go Cardinals....

Kuna mushkeli na timu ambazo Prez anazishabikia mojawapo ni West Ham, mie mwenyewe nataka Cardinals washinde alafu kisiri siri mie mshabiki wa Chiefs mpaka leo nina mjezi wa Priest Holmes(kila nikigeuka wewe mtani wangu-Chiefs, Man U, Simba)

Aloo...hapajakoseka kitu hapo.

Kila mtu analia Steelers lakini naona itakua kama mwaka jana Patriots vs NY Giants na ngoma ikacheua.

Babu Steelers wakishaingiaga kwenye playoffs wanakuwa na bahati sijui, ila safari hii Cardinals wanawafundisha kisomo, kama walichopewa Eagles.

 

[Kipanga]

mi jina tuu ndio limeniacha hoi Hashim Thabit (Hasheem Thabeet) Kama Baraka(Barack) bado kasumba inatusumbua

.....I like this!!...Kweli tupu...

 

[BAK]

Hongera Hasheem ukiendelea hivyo basi unastahili kabisa number 1 spot kwenye NBA Draft miezi michache ijayo.
Go Steelers!!! Steelers defence yao ni number 1, hivyo defence ndiyo itakayowasaidia kushinda lakini Cardinals wanatisha wakipata momentum basi itakuwa vigumu kuwazuia. Go Steelers! Leo kweli ni Super Sunday maana Nadal VS Federer, dakika chache ni Liverpool VS Chelsea, baadaye ni Cleveland VS Detroit (NBA) na mwisho ni Superbowl

 

[Yo Yo]

Hongera Hasheem ukiendelea hivyo basi unastahili kabisa number 1 spot kwenye NBA Draft miezi michache ijayo.
Go Steelers!!! Steelers defence yao ni number 1, hivyo defence ndiyo itakayowasaidia kushinda lakini Cardinals wanatisha wakipata momentum basi itakuwa vigumu kuwazuia. Go Steelers! Leo kweli ni Super Sunday maana Nadal VS Federer, dakika chache ni Liverpool VS Chelsea, baadaye ni Cleveland VS Detroit (NBA) na mwisho ni Superbowl

Usisahau jana yanga pia sherehe mpaka leo....Cleveland hachomi leo....

 

[BAK]

Usisahau jana yanga pia sherehe mpaka leo....Cleveland hachomi leo....

LOL!..Mimi na jangwani mbali mbali... Hatuwivi kabisaaaaaa!!! Lakini inapokuja kwenye mashindano ya Kimataifa basi nawafagilia Kandambili...

 

[Alpha]

Hongera Hasheem.

Good stuff, keep it up man.

 

[Koba]

....135 days until NBA draft wakuu,mpaka sasa Hasheem kwenye site zote kuanzia collegehoop mpaka draftnet yupo projected kwenye top 3,as a reminder this week was named Big East player of the week,nimekuwa impressed sana na kijana inaonekana he knows what hes doing na game yake kila siku ina improve,ongeza msuri tuu kijana ili kina Yao na Shaq wasije waka dunk juu ya kichwa chako...all in all good job Thabeet,nina uhakika ukiendelea na speed hii lazima utakuwa katika top 10!

 

[Silas A.K]

Mkuu Koba,

Habari njema sana kuhusu kijana hashim thabit,nakumbuka siku nilipostuka kumuona kijana mrefu miaka kati ya 1998 au 1999 pale sinza makaburini.Nahisi ingekuwa usiku ningetoka nduki.Nimefurahi kwamba anautumia urefu wake na kipaji na kujituma kuiweka tanzania kwenye ramani ya mchezo wa kikapu. natumaini akina richard kasesera na lawrence cheyo watapata changamoto ya kuendeleza mchezo huu kutokana na mafanikio anayoyapata kijana hasheem.

Naamini atakuwa an inspiration kwa generation ya sasa ya kitanzania kupenda michezo si tu mchezo wa kikapu bali hata michezo mingine ili siku moja tuondokane na kuwa kichwa cha wendawazimu katika medani ya sports.

 

[Zogwale]

Keep it up Hashim. Tunafurahi kuona unatumia vema umbile la mwili wako with confidence maana ingekuwa mwingine pengine angekuwa anajificha kutokana na abnormality. Otherwise, ni challenge kwa wazazi ku encourage watoto wao kukubali the reality ikiwa kuna some abnormalies katika miili yao provided that abnormaly hiyo haimletei madhara kwa kushiriki jambo fulani halali. Once again, keep it up.

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Thabeet, Calhoun On The Rise In Power Rankings​

Hasheem Thabeet's big week helped Connecticut hang onto the No. 1 ranking.
​

Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Basketball Staff Writer

Connecticut's first week as the No. 1 team in the nation turned into a showcase for Hasheem Thabeet.The 7-foot-3 junior collected 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks while holding freshman center Samardo Samuels scoreless in a 68-51 victory over Louisville on Feb. 2. Thabeet followed that up by compiling 17 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks Saturday in a 69-61 triumph over Michigan.


Thabeet's big week helped make him the new No. 1 center in the Rivals.com Power Rankings, which measure the nation's top performers at each position.

"I just go out and play all out," Thabeet said after the Michigan game. "The coaches told me not to be scared about getting into foul trouble, so every time I try to help and block it. I'm just trying to change the game. Every time my teammate gets beat, I'm there to block the shot."

He has blocked plenty of them lately.

Thabeet ranks third in the nation with four blocked shots per game. He has 20 blocks over his past three games and 28 over his past five games.

His performances against Louisville and Michigan helped Thabeet overtake North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough in the power rankings. Hansbrough averages nearly nine more points per game, but Thabeet is a better defender, pulls down more rebounds and shoots at a higher percentage.

"He changes the game completely for us," Connecticut guard A.J. Price said. "I don't know where we'd be without him."

Thabeet isn't the only Connecticut representative atop the power rankings. The Huskies' 11-game winning streak also allowed Jim Calhoun to move to the top of the coach rankings. Calhoun moved ahead of Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, whose team lost at Clemson and beat Miami in overtime.

Players remaining atop their respective positions this week included Wake Forest point guard Jeff Teague, Marquette shooting guard Jerel McNeal, Arizona State small forward James Harden and Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin. Memphis guard Tyreke Evans maintained his status as the nation's No. 1 freshman.

Evans also moved from shooting guard to point guard in this week's edition of the power rankings, which allowed teammate Antonio Anderson to enter the power rankings in the shooting guard slot. A team can't have multiple players included in one position of the power rankings, unless one of those players is coming off the bench.

This week's edition of the power rankings takes into account all games through Sunday.

The power rankings of a player and coach can fluctuate each week during the season depending on how they fared the previous week, but the power rankings measure overall career performances as well as their most recent results.

Rivals.com College Basketball - Thabeet, Calhoun on rise in power rankings

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

(AP)—

Hasheem Thabeet was that good.




The 7-foot-3 junior center nearly had his second triple-double in two weeks, finishing with career-highs of 25 points and 20 rebounds while blocking nine shots Saturday in No. 1 Connecticut’s 62-54 victory over Seton Hall, the Huskies’ 13th straight win.

“Thabeet, to me, might be the best player in the country,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. “I don’t know who has a better player than him, who has a more dominant guy than him in the country. He, to me, is the No. 1 player in America. In my opinion from what I have seen, you know I am not trying to push him out the door, have him go pro, but if I was an NBA franchise I would take him No. 1 in the draft.”

Nobody was arguing with Gonzalez on Saturday.

My Take: Looks like the kid has stepped up his game....

 

[MpigaFilimbi]

(AP)—

Hasheem Thabeet was that good.




The 7-foot-3 junior center nearly had his second triple-double in two weeks, finishing with career-highs of 25 points and 20 rebounds while blocking nine shots Saturday in No. 1 Connecticut’s 62-54 victory over Seton Hall, the Huskies’ 13th straight win.

“Thabeet, to me, might be the best player in the country,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. “I don’t know who has a better player than him, who has a more dominant guy than him in the country. He, to me, is the No. 1 player in America. In my opinion from what I have seen, you know I am not trying to push him out the door, have him go pro, but if I was an NBA franchise I would take him No. 1 in the draft.”

Nobody was arguing with Gonzalez on Saturday.

My Take: Looks like the kid has stepped up his game....

..good for him. I hope he takes a good care of himself and continue to excel, not like his compatriots in the country. They end up being famous in Manzese and nothing else!!!

 

[Masanilo]

The Guy is overrated!

 

[BAK]

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Hasheem Thabeet was that good.​

The 7-foot-3 junior center nearly had his second triple-double in two weeks, finishing with career-highs of 25 points and 20 rebounds while blocking nine shots Saturday in No. 1 Connecticut's 62-54 victory over Seton Hall, the Huskies' 13th straight win.

''Thabeet, to me, might be the best player in the country,'' Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. ''I don't know who has a better player than him, who has a more dominant guy than him in the country. He, to me, is the No. 1 player in America. In my opinion from what I have seen, you know I am not trying to push him out the door, have him go pro, but if I was an NBA franchise I would take him No. 1 in the draft.''

Nobody was arguing with Gonzalez on Saturday.

''He's so tough you need a broom, you need some extra help,'' said Seton Hall center John Garcia , who gave away 7 inches but had a career-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. ''He is that talented, that athletic, that long. That is why he'll be a lottery pick.''

Back to talking about his college career, Thabeet's performance was so important to the Huskies (24-1, 12-1 Big East) because they managed to match the 1995-96 team for the best start in school history despite playing their first game since losing second-leading scorer Jerome Dyson .

The junior guard, who was averaging 13.2 points and is one of the team's most effective outside shooters, tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee against Syracuse on Wednesday. He will undergo surgery Tuesday and likely miss the rest of the season.

''Jerome is one of our best perimeter defenders so now I know my teammates need me more to help them with blocks if they get beat,'' Thabeet said. ''Great team defense is still the key for us and I am going to be more aggressive.''

Thabeet, who had 11 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks against Providence on Jan. 31, smiled when asked about just missing another triple-double.

''I definitely wanted it, who wouldn't?'' Thabeet, who was 10-for-13 from the field, said. ''You can't worry about numbers, they give you what you get. Coach just told me to do my job and I did it.''

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun raved about Thabeet, making one comment that let you know what the center meant to his team.

''The difference tonight was there were nine players and Hasheem,'' he said. ''Every once in a while you see that.''

Jeff Adrien had 14 points and 15 rebounds - his 44th career double-double - for Connecticut, which finished with a 55-43 rebound advantage and blocked 11 shots. The Huskies have led the nation in blocks the last seven seasons and are second in Division I with an average of 7.4.

This was the second straight game Connecticut held an opponent to a season-low point total following its 63-49 victory over No. 23 Syracuse.

Robert Mitchell had eight points and 15 rebounds for the Pirates (14-10, 5-7), who had won their last five, all in the Big East, and shot 31.2 percent (24-for-77) for the game.

''When you play a team like Connecticut you might go through some droughts because they make it so difficult to score because they have the terminator standing in the lane,'' Gonzalez said. ''He is unbelievable. He changes the game. He dominates the game. He alters the game. They threw seven or eight alley-oops and he dunked without even jumping.''

Huskies guard A.J. Price said Thabeet has become ''more active, more assertive.''

''He is a huge asset, there's no doubt about that,'' he said.

Connecticut led 33-23 at halftime and had its biggest lead of the game at 47-35 on a tip-in by Thabeet with 13:29 to play. The Huskies would match that lead three more times but couldn't put Seton Hall away, as Garcia found a way to score inside, something no one else on the Pirates could do.

Connecticut hurt itself by going 15-for-27 from the free throw line and neither team could connect from 3-point range, with the Huskies going 3-for-8 and the Pirates 2-for-15.

Connecticut, which has been on top of the poll for the past two weeks, is 40-7 when ranked No. 1. Seton Hall fell to 0-11 all-time against top-ranked teams. The Huskies host No. 4 Pittsburgh on Monday night.

Calhoun said the Huskies are a different team with Dyson and that he'll see how different when they play a team like Pittsburgh, which they also face in the last game of the regular season.

The Huskies have won nine in a row over Seton Hall and 23 of 25. Connecticut won the earlier meeting this season, 76-61.

''We knew coming in we were playing with house money,'' Garcia said. ''This won't affect our confidence, in fact it shows we can play with the No. 1 team in the country.''

 

[Masanilo]

The kid is overrated jamani!!

 

[BAK]

The Guy is overrated!

Hmmm! Maybe you have a valid point to support your statement. Why do you think he is overrated!?