Indazone
06-10-2009, 01:13 PM
March 28, 2009
NBA Crystal Ball: Hasheem Thabeet Will Be the Next Dikembe Mutombo (http://mvn.com/outsider/2009/03/nba-crystal-ball-hasheem-thabeet-will-be-the-next-dikembe-mutombo.html)
http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/2/c/b/e/PicImg_NCAA_Second_Round_240f.jpg
When you're wrapped up in the brilliance of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament it can be hard focusing your attention on the Association. There just aren't a ton of games in the league with the intensity of the Elite Eight showdown we saw between Pittsburgh and Villanova. But when we look to the future, as the fortune tellers at MVN are prone to do, we find it to our delight that we can have the best of both worlds when we observe the next great NBA players at the top of their collegiate game in the deeper parts of the tournament. Hasheem Thabeet drew our attention today.
Few teams have been as dominant in the Tournament as the Connecticut Huskies and much of their excellence comes from the man in the middle. Thabeet has constantly denied opponents heading to the basket up until Saturday's game against the Missouri Tigers, where he had no blocks against the aggressive Tigers. A game like Thabeet had today has us wondering how good Thabeet really could be.
At this point I wouldn't have taken him over Emeka Okafor, another UConn beast that led his team to the college title. Okafor was taken 2nd in the NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. Thabeet is projected by some as the 2nd pick in the 2009 Draft. Who would you rather have? Okafor is averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds this season and still is seen by some as a disappointment. If Thabeet averaged those numbers with 2 blocks a game, I think a team would be thrilled. This should help us understand the expectations that should be placed on Thabeet.
As much as some would love to project him as the next Hakeem Olajuwon, by the end of Thabeet's career, we will be calling him Dikembe Mutombo 2.0
Thabeet is still a work in progress on both ends of the court. How is this possible on defense when dude averages 4.4 blocks a game? DeJuan Blair could tell you. Thabeet can't handle when players come into him. It is his weakness, something that NBA players will be sure to exploit.
Offensively, Thabeet is a child. He has made great lengths this year but that development will be stymied should he leave early this season. Thabeet's lack of awareness down low and his willingness to let smaller players push him out of the box should be a concern for any team in the lottery that wants to take him.
Everything I see from Thabeet reminds me of Dikembe Mutombo. Thabeet is no round mound of rebound, sitting at 7-3 and 265 lbs. Mutombo is 7-2 and 260 lbs. Mutombo's average stat line was between 11-13 points a season, with about 12 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. Thabeet's numbers right now sit at 13 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4 blocks a game.
Both have African backgrounds, Thabeet hailing from Tanzania and Mutombo from Zaire. The Big East pedigree is easily recognized and it wouldn't shock me if one day Mutombo takes Thabeet on for lessons, maybe even perfecting the finger wag. With all the uncanny similarities, brace yourself for a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker moment where Dikembe shouts in inaudible English, "You do not come into the house of Mutombo. Oh, and I am your father." Dikembe has always preferred playing the villiain anyway, and Thabeet still is a little timid for our tastes on the offensive end.
How high Thabeet can rise in the rankings of NBA centers is up to him. He's an incredibly athletic and intelligent player and we continue to see progress in his game. That's all more reason for him to stay in college. With another year, he could be a true threat in the NBA, not a project that can block anything that comes his way. Beware the ides of Greg Oden, a player who was hyped far more than Thabeet has been.
In the future we may be placing Thabeet in his own category. Right now, we see no reason to think he won't be a modern day Mutombo, not that that's a bad thing. As we recall, Mutombo has been in the league for 17 years and is regarded as one of the greatest defensive centers of all-time. So Thabeet's got that going for him, which is nice.
http://mvn.com/outsider/2009/03/nba-crystal-ball-hasheem-thabeet-will-be-the-next-dikembe-mutombo.html
No wonder the Rockets are trying to move up for the number 2 pick.
NBA Crystal Ball: Hasheem Thabeet Will Be the Next Dikembe Mutombo (http://mvn.com/outsider/2009/03/nba-crystal-ball-hasheem-thabeet-will-be-the-next-dikembe-mutombo.html)
http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/2/c/b/e/PicImg_NCAA_Second_Round_240f.jpg
When you're wrapped up in the brilliance of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament it can be hard focusing your attention on the Association. There just aren't a ton of games in the league with the intensity of the Elite Eight showdown we saw between Pittsburgh and Villanova. But when we look to the future, as the fortune tellers at MVN are prone to do, we find it to our delight that we can have the best of both worlds when we observe the next great NBA players at the top of their collegiate game in the deeper parts of the tournament. Hasheem Thabeet drew our attention today.
Few teams have been as dominant in the Tournament as the Connecticut Huskies and much of their excellence comes from the man in the middle. Thabeet has constantly denied opponents heading to the basket up until Saturday's game against the Missouri Tigers, where he had no blocks against the aggressive Tigers. A game like Thabeet had today has us wondering how good Thabeet really could be.
At this point I wouldn't have taken him over Emeka Okafor, another UConn beast that led his team to the college title. Okafor was taken 2nd in the NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. Thabeet is projected by some as the 2nd pick in the 2009 Draft. Who would you rather have? Okafor is averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds this season and still is seen by some as a disappointment. If Thabeet averaged those numbers with 2 blocks a game, I think a team would be thrilled. This should help us understand the expectations that should be placed on Thabeet.
As much as some would love to project him as the next Hakeem Olajuwon, by the end of Thabeet's career, we will be calling him Dikembe Mutombo 2.0
Thabeet is still a work in progress on both ends of the court. How is this possible on defense when dude averages 4.4 blocks a game? DeJuan Blair could tell you. Thabeet can't handle when players come into him. It is his weakness, something that NBA players will be sure to exploit.
Offensively, Thabeet is a child. He has made great lengths this year but that development will be stymied should he leave early this season. Thabeet's lack of awareness down low and his willingness to let smaller players push him out of the box should be a concern for any team in the lottery that wants to take him.
Everything I see from Thabeet reminds me of Dikembe Mutombo. Thabeet is no round mound of rebound, sitting at 7-3 and 265 lbs. Mutombo is 7-2 and 260 lbs. Mutombo's average stat line was between 11-13 points a season, with about 12 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. Thabeet's numbers right now sit at 13 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4 blocks a game.
Both have African backgrounds, Thabeet hailing from Tanzania and Mutombo from Zaire. The Big East pedigree is easily recognized and it wouldn't shock me if one day Mutombo takes Thabeet on for lessons, maybe even perfecting the finger wag. With all the uncanny similarities, brace yourself for a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker moment where Dikembe shouts in inaudible English, "You do not come into the house of Mutombo. Oh, and I am your father." Dikembe has always preferred playing the villiain anyway, and Thabeet still is a little timid for our tastes on the offensive end.
How high Thabeet can rise in the rankings of NBA centers is up to him. He's an incredibly athletic and intelligent player and we continue to see progress in his game. That's all more reason for him to stay in college. With another year, he could be a true threat in the NBA, not a project that can block anything that comes his way. Beware the ides of Greg Oden, a player who was hyped far more than Thabeet has been.
In the future we may be placing Thabeet in his own category. Right now, we see no reason to think he won't be a modern day Mutombo, not that that's a bad thing. As we recall, Mutombo has been in the league for 17 years and is regarded as one of the greatest defensive centers of all-time. So Thabeet's got that going for him, which is nice.
http://mvn.com/outsider/2009/03/nba-crystal-ball-hasheem-thabeet-will-be-the-next-dikembe-mutombo.html
No wonder the Rockets are trying to move up for the number 2 pick.