UConn men’s basketball announced Thursday that former center Hasheem Thabeet will be the 24th inductee to the team’s Huskies of Honor. The Tanzania native will be inducted on Saturday, Feb. 14 at halftime of the Huskies’ matchup against Georgetown at Gampel Pavilion.
Thabeet, who spent three seasons at UConn from 2006-09, is one the best shot blockers in program history and was a key piece to the program’s third Final Four appearance in 2009. In that season, Thabeet averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds
and 4.2 blocks per game for the Huskies. He was named the Big East Player of the Year that season and also a consensus All-American after leading the conference in blocked shots.
Thabeet arrived to Storrs as a 7-foot-3 freshman with considerable raw talent, which Jim Calhoun helped develop into a dangerous weapon on both ends of the court. Thabeet’s shot-blocking ability was always apparent — he led the Big East in blocked shots in all three of his collegiate seasons — but his improved offensive game made the Huskies a true force during their run to the 2009 Final Four in Detroit. His footwork in the low post improved rapidly from season to season, a trait Thabeet routinely attributed to years of playing soccer in Tanzania as a child.
Michigan State stopped UConn’s tournament run and handed the program its first (and still only) Final Four loss and Thabeet declared for the 2009 NBA Draft soon after. By the time his collegiate career was done, his list of accomplishments was long; he finished his three years with the Huskies as a two-time NABC Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year to go along with his 2009 All-American and Big East Player of the Year honors.
In the UConn record book, Thabeet ranks second in total blocks (417) and blocks per game (4.2) behind just Emeka Okafor, another member of the Huskies of Honor. He finished his UConn career with 1,028 points in 100 career games, and left Storrs as the all-time leader in field goal percentage at 61.1 percent. He is also just one of 12 Huskies to record a triple-double, posting a 15-point, 11-rebound, 10-block performance in a Jan. 31, 2009 win over Providence.
After UConn, Thabeet was selected as No. 2 overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2009 NBA Draft, tying Okafor for the highest selection ever for a former Husky. Thabeet went on to play in the NBA for five seasons across four teams, averaging 2.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game and accruing nearly $17 million in career earnings.
