Tanzania Icon
Hasheem Thabeet Tanzanian basketball player Hasheem Thabeet was born Hashim Thabit Manka on 16 February 1987 in Dar es Salaam – the son of Thabit Manka and Rukia Manka. His mother lives in Dar es Salaam and he has a sister, Sham, and a brother, Akbar.
on to the University of Connecticut where he played for the Connecticut Huskies from 2006 to 2009. As a freshman at Connecticut in 2006, Thabeet tied the University record of 10 blocks. Thabeet was named to the 2007 All-Big EastRookie Team. On 5 January 2008 as a sophomore, he tied his career high of 10 blocks. Thabeet was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Thabeet emerged on the national scene as a junior. He earned his first career tripledouble on 31 January 2009, with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks. He finished with 152 blocks in the season, and became known for the shots he prevented. Thabeet surpassed the 1,000-point mark on March 26, 2009 and helped lead Connecticut to their first Final Four appearance since 2004. In April 2009, Thabeet decided to declare for the 2009 NBA Draft instead of his senior season. His professional career was ignited when he was the second pick overall by the Memphis Grizzlies, becoming the first Tanzanian-born NBA player. He also played D-League for the Dakota Wizards from 2009 to 2010, the Houston Rockets from 2011 to 2012, the Rio Grande Vipers D-League in 2011, and the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012. On 11 July 2012, he signed as a free agent with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2012-13 season. Thabeet has played 135 professional games in his career and had his best season from 2009 to 2010 with Memphis Grizzlies. As the only National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player to have ever come out of Tanzania, Thabeet currently plays at centre position with number 34 at Oklahoma City Thunder. Thabeet hadn’t considered playing basketball until he watched a street basketball practice at the age of 15. One of the players was impressed by his height and gave Thabeet sports shoes to play with them the next day. He then played basketball for the team at his secondary
school in Dar es Salaam, Makongo. He was selected to compete in the East African Games in Nairobi, Kenya. There an agent spotted him and offered him a basketball scholarship to the United States. Thabeet took his middle name for his surname on his father’s death, and left Dar es Salaam for the United States. He attended Cypress Christian High School in Houston, Texas in 2005-06, helping his team win the State 4A championship for the sixth time in seven years. He then went
At a height of over seven feet (2.21 metres) and weighing 119 kilograms, he is the tallest active player in the NBA. His career highlights and awards include winning the NABC Defensive Player of the year twice in 2008 and 2009, Second Team All-America, and the Big East Player of the Year in 2009. www.thetallestman.com www.nba.com
Best of Tanzania
|
37