Thabeet Big East's top defensive player

The development of Hasheem Thabeet the basketball player has been nearly as swift as the growth of Hasheem Thabeet the stand-up comic.
The proof of both is in his timing.

As he stepped to the dais inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel to accept the Big East defensive player of the year award Tuesday night, Hasheem Thabeet, showed off his delivery.

"Thanks to the guards for letting guys go by so I could block shots," the 7-foot-3 Tanzanian said with a smile.

Thabeet is getting nearly as many laughs as he is awards these days, proof that he has adjusted socially to America and collegiate life as well as to the game he loves.

Thabeet was the only Husky who took home a major award Tuesday.

Notre Dame's Luke Harangody was named player of the year and his coach, Mike Brey, was named coach of the year. UConn guard A.J. Price and Jim Calhoun, a four-time winner of the coaching honor, were dark horse candidates for those prizes.

Brey was named Big East coach of the year for the second consecutive season. The Irish were picked to finish ninth in the preseason but finished third.

Harangody led the league in scoring and rebounding, the first player to do so since another Notre Dame forward, Troy Murphy, did so in 2000. He's also the first sophomore to win the award since UConn's Caron Butler in 2002.

The defensive award was basically created for Georgetown's Patrick Ewing and was dominated by Hoya centers in its early years. But it's become Husky hardware lately.

This was the fifth time in the last six years a UConn player has won the award.

"Connecticut has a long history of great shot blockers, but I think we went to a different level this year with Hasheem," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said as he presented Thabeet with the trophy.

Thabeet blocked 94 shots in Big East play this year, breaking the single-season record Alonzo Mourning set in 1992. He joins Donyell Marshall, Emeka Okafor (twice), Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong as UConn winners of the defensive award.

Calhoun, who has begun campaigning for Thabeet to eschew the NBA for at least one more season, says his center has the potential to be the best of that group.

"If he's back at UConn next year, which right now is completely up in the air because of the potential he's shown and the improvement he's shown," Calhoun said, "he might become the greatest shot blocker in the history of not only this league, but one of the greats in the history of college basketball.

"His timing is uncanny," Calhoun continued. "His ability now to be a weak-side shot blocker as well as a strong-side shot blocker on his own man has improved greatly. And we saw a couple new things even in his 31st game (this season) where he waited to the last second to get the ball."

For his part, Thabeet hasn't mentioned leaving early for the professional ranks. He playfully chastised reporters on Sunday for asking about his final game in Gampel Pavilion, explaining that he was only a sophomore.

Thabeet admitted that when he does leave, however, it's going to be a major life change.

"I love it," Thabeet said. "Leaving UConn is going to be the biggest adjustment of my life."

UConn (24-7, 13-5) has a bye in the first round of the Big East tournament that gets under way this afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The fourth-seeded Huskies will play either West Virginia or Providence in Thursday's quarterfinal. Those two teams meet today at 2 p.m.

Big East Awards

Player of the year — Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Coach of the year — Mike Brey, Notre Dame
Defensive player of the year — Hasheem Thabeet, UConn
Rookie of the year — DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, and Jonny Flynn, Syracuse
Most improved player — Sam Young, Pittsburgh
Sixth man award — Patrick Ewing Jr., Georgetown
Sportsmanship award — Ronald Ramon, Pittsburgh, and Darris Nichols, West Virginia

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