28 April 2007
TANZANIA : Tanzanian star delays NBA career
AFTER months of speculation about his future, University of Connecticut men's basketball player Hasheem Thabeet has decided to return to UConn for his sophomore season.
Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 centre from Tanzania, was considered a possible first-round NBA draft pick if he left school early. Instead, Thabeet announced yesterday he wants to play for the Huskies at least one more season.
The deadline for declaring for the 2007 NBA Draft is Sunday. "I am very excited about next season and returning to UConn for my sophomore year," Thabeet said.
"I look forward to continuing my education as a person and as an athlete. We have all been working very hard since the season ended and we will continue doing everything we can to get better each day and have a great season next year. "I would also like to express my appreciation to all my fans and those who have taken interest in my career here at UConn," Thabeet added.
"I want to especially thank my fans in Tanzania who continue to send me volumes of letters of support. I am glad I can be a role model figure to the youth in Tanzania, many of whom do not have the opportunities that I have been given."
UConn head coach Jim Calhoun, who has been counseling Thabeet on a near-daily basis, was pleased with the decision. "We obviously have high expectations for Hasheem in the coming year," Calhoun said. "He had a very good freshman year for us and showed great improvement as the year went on. "He has the opportunity to take it to the next level during this coming summer and heading into next season and can really be a big part of our team achieving success in the future."
Thabeet started all 31 games for UConn last season and averaged 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots per game. He ranked first in the Big East and third nationally in blocked shots.
Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 centre from Tanzania, was considered a possible first-round NBA draft pick if he left school early. Instead, Thabeet announced yesterday he wants to play for the Huskies at least one more season.
The deadline for declaring for the 2007 NBA Draft is Sunday. "I am very excited about next season and returning to UConn for my sophomore year," Thabeet said.
"I look forward to continuing my education as a person and as an athlete. We have all been working very hard since the season ended and we will continue doing everything we can to get better each day and have a great season next year. "I would also like to express my appreciation to all my fans and those who have taken interest in my career here at UConn," Thabeet added.
"I want to especially thank my fans in Tanzania who continue to send me volumes of letters of support. I am glad I can be a role model figure to the youth in Tanzania, many of whom do not have the opportunities that I have been given."
UConn head coach Jim Calhoun, who has been counseling Thabeet on a near-daily basis, was pleased with the decision. "We obviously have high expectations for Hasheem in the coming year," Calhoun said. "He had a very good freshman year for us and showed great improvement as the year went on. "He has the opportunity to take it to the next level during this coming summer and heading into next season and can really be a big part of our team achieving success in the future."
Thabeet started all 31 games for UConn last season and averaged 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots per game. He ranked first in the Big East and third nationally in blocked shots.
# posted by afrbk : 18:27
