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#32 Hasheem Thabeet
Center
Height: 7-3
Weight: 263
NBA Experience: 2
College: Connecticut
High School: Cypress Christian (Houston, TX)
Birthdate: February 16, 1987
Birthplace: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
How Acquired: Trade with Memphis on February 24, 2011
In 2010-2011
Averaged 1.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.33 blocks in 45 games with Memphis … was a DNP (CD) 14 times with the Grizzlies … scored a season-high eight points in 14 minutes of action vs. Charlotte (12/15/10) … grabbed a season-best six rebounds in 12 minutes of playing time vs. Houston (1/21/11) … blocked a season-high two shots on three occasions … acquired by Houston from Memphis on Feb. 24 … played in two games with the Rockets … DNP (CD) for 11 games (2/27/11-3/2/11; 3/7/11-3/18/11; 4/11/11-4/13/11) and on the inactive list for 10 games (3/20/11-4/9/11) with Houston … made his Rockets debut vs. New Jersey (2/26/11) … assigned to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Mar. 21 … recalled from the Vipers on Apr. 11 after averaging 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.67 blocks in six regular season games (five starts) … also started one playoff game with Rio Grande Valley at Bakersfield (4/8/11).
In the NBA
Holds career averages of 2.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.91 blocks in 115 games (13 starts) with Memphis and Houston … has also played with the NBA D-League’s Dakota Wizards (2009-10) and Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2010-11). 2009-2010: In his first season with Memphis, averaged 3.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 68 games (13 starts) … led the NBA in blocks per 48 minutes with 4.84 (min. 60 games) … ranked second among all NBA rookies in blocks per game (1.31) … missed one game (11/11/09) due to a fractured jaw … was a DNP (CD) seven times … inactive six games (2/26/10-3/6/10) after being assigned to the D-League’s Dakota Wizards on Feb. 25 … recorded multiple blocks 24 times, including a career-high five blocks at Miami (12/13/09) … averaged 5.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.00 blocks in 22.1 minutes in 13 starts filling in for an injured Marc Gasol … posted 5.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.77 blocks in the 13 games in which he played at least 20 minutes … scored a career-high 10 points at Phoenix (1/2/10), 10 points in his first career start vs. Chicago (3/16/10) and 10 points at Sacramento (3/22/10) … pulled down 10-plus rebounds twice, including a career-high 11 boards vs. New Orleans (4/2/10) … averaged 13.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.17 blocks in 31.3 minutes over six games (four starts) with Dakota … went on to average 4.5 points (.600 FG%), 5.5 rebounds and 1.72 blocks in the final 18 games of the season after being recalled from the Wizards … averaged 2.5 points (.580 FG%), 2.9 rebounds and 1.16 blocks in 50 games before his D-League assignment … led the Grizzlies with 8.6 rebounds (tied for sixth in Summer League) and 2.80 blocks (second in Summer League) to go with 11.4 points over five games at the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
In College
In three seasons at Connecticut, averaged 10.3 points (.611 FG%), 8.5 rebounds and 4.2 blocks in 100 games (99 starts) … a two-time winner of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2008 and 2009 … was named the 2009 Co-Big East Player of the Year (Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair) … won consecutive Big East Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 2008 and 2009, becoming the first player to do so since Emeka Okafor (2003 and 2004) … shares the UConn school record for blocks in a single game with 10 (set three different times) … left UConn ranked second on the Big East all-time blocked shots list (243), just four behind Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing … notched three or more blocks in 71 of his 100 career collegiate games … in 2008-09, averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks (second in NCAA) in 36 games (all starts), leading the Huskies to their first Final Four appearance since 2004 … named to the All-Big East First Team and All-America First Team by the NABC … garnered All-America Second Team from The Associated Press as a junior … was a finalist for the Oscar Robertson and Naismith National Player of the Year Awards … averaged 12.6 points and 10.6 rebounds in five games of the NCAA Tournament … recorded 19 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in a six-overtime Big East Quarterfinal loss to Syracuse, which was the longest game in Big East history … registered the seventh triple-double in UConn history with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks vs. Providence (1/31/09) … posted career bests of 25 points and 20 rebounds to go along with nine blocks vs. Seton Hall (2/14/09) … in 2007-08, averaged 10.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.5 blocks (third in NCAA) in 33 games (32 starts) … named to the All-Big East Second Team and NABC All-District Second Team as a sophomore … set the Big East record for blocked shots in league games (94), breaking the old record held by Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning (93) … started in all 31 games in 2006-07, averaging 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 blocks … named to the Big East All-Rookie Team.
In Life
Born Hashim Thabit Manka on Feb. 16, 1987, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania … name in Arabic means “destroyer of evil” … name is pronounced ha-SHEEM tha-BEET … son of Thabit Manka (deceased) and Rukia Manka … has one sister, Sham, and one brother, Akbar … had his iPod engraved with his nickname and college number, “Hasheem the Dream 34,” honoring Rockets Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon … after growing up as a soccer player, began playing organized basketball when he was 15 years old … was the first Tanzanian-born player to be drafted by and play for an NBA team … has met United Republic of Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete on several occasions and regularly stays in contact with him via text message … stood as the tallest player in UConn history … earned money for his family as a runway model in Dar es Salaam … facilitated his own college recruitment by finding and e-mailing college coaches through Google … trained with members of the U.S. Navy Seals in preparation for the NBA Draft … memorized the preamble to the United States Constitution in high school in Swahili before memorizing it in English … ran a half-marathon when he was 13 years old … helped to distribute 100 pairs of athletic shoes to children as part of the Refugee Empowerment Program in Jan. 2010 … along with former UConn standout Emeka Okafor, helped raise $20,000 for Okafor’s “One Million African Lives” initiative as part of a “Read and Raise” Fundraiser in urban Hartford (CT) schools … scored two goals in a charity soccer event against such NBA players as Phoenix’s Steve Nash and Cleveland’s Baron Davis in Vancouver, B.C., Canada on Sep. 19, 2009.
In Transactions
Selected after his junior season by Memphis with the second-overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft … signed a multi-year contract with the Grizzlies on July 8, 2009 … assigned to the D-League’s Dakota Wizards on Feb. 25, 2010, being recalled on Mar. 8 … Memphis exercised his third-year contract option on Oct. 27, 2010 … acquired by the Rockets along with DeMarre Carroll and a future first-round draft pick from the Grizzlies in exchange for Shane Battier and Ishmael Smith on Feb. 24, 2011 … assigned to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley on Mar. 21, 2011, and was recalled from the Vipers on Apr. 11.
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