Hasheem Thabeet,
Junior, Connecticut,
NBA Position: C,
H: 7'2.5, W: 267, Age: 22
No need to point out the obvious, Thabeet has incredible physicals. With a 7'6 wingspan and a 9'5 standing reach, he has the length to cause all kinds of issues inside the paint. He's also not a complete stiff while using that length as well and is a reasonable athlete, though he didn't run/jump in the combine so we won't know how good exactly.
Offensively, Thabeet still has a long road ahead of him. On the plus
side, he was incredibly efficient shooting 64% from the field, but he
did so on extremely low volume. At the next level, Thabeet will
definitely be an offensive role player who's scoring role is limited
largely to offensive put backs, basket cuts, and the occasional post
move.
When generating his own offense he's rather mechanical and extremely
reliant on his length to attempt to get a good look. He doesn't have
the lower body strength to really bang in the paint and back guys
down. This will be even more evident in the NBA. Thabeet hasn't
been playing basketball as long as most prospects, so he may have a
little more head room than his age implies (assuming his age is
accurate which isn't a given).
Rebounding the basketball, Thabeet was solid, but unspectacular.
Especially given his immense size, you would expect him to dominate on
the glass while instead he put up an above average rebound rate, but
clearly nothing special. Again, he still clearly needs to add a lot
of strength to be able to bang in the NBA underneath the hoop.
He's obviously a tremendous help defender. As a shot blocker, he's
the best I've seen since I've started really breaking down players
individually over the past three years. That's obviously what he'll
be drafted on, and it's an ability which should easily translate to the
next level. As a man defender, he's still somewhat of a work in
progress, as strong players can push him around and take the ball right
at him and out physical him.
He definitely has defensive anchor potential at the next level, but
he's unlikely to be solving anyone's low post offensive woes. While
he's rated in the top three of most draft boards, I don't see him
really being the third best player in the draft. He's only likely to
help you on one side of the court, and even then he shows some small
red flags towards his effectiveness.
He does have the physical gifts that he could improve considerably down
the line, and he's progressed considerably throughout his three years
of college, so he's likely not done improving. He's likely a poor
man's Dikembe Mutombo for his career.
Filed under: Draft Coverage
Tags: chicago bulls, draft, hasheem thabeet, nba
RoadWarrior
13 minutes ago