At 2.21m, Hasheem Thabeet towered tall over his contemporaries at the University of Connecticut college basketball team.
But for the giant center Thabeet, who became the first Tanzanian basketballer to play in NBA when he was drafted by the Memphis Grizzles last July, his new life is a far cry from the days he worked as a nightclub bouncer to supplement his meager income as a part-time club player.
The 22-year-old Thabeet returned to his homeland for the first time since joining the Grizzles from the UConn Huskies in this year’s NBA draft earlier this month with a strong message.
He was accorded a warm reception befitting a celebrity, and was even honored with a state luncheon with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, himself a former basketball player and patron of the national association.
“We are very proud of you, Hasheem. You have brought fame to our nation,” Kikwete told the NBA star, whose new found status is likely to popularize the sport of basketball in a country where soccer is the No. 1 sport.
Thabeet, who only started playing basketball at age 13 and went on a long road before being noticed as a talented player, took the opportunity to lash out at the Tanzanian authorities for not doing enough to promote the growth of basketball in the country.
“Youths are not encouraged to play basketball and little is being invested on playing grounds. A few basketball courts that are available in the country are sub-standard, while others are in deplorable conditions,” he said.
He warned that success needs hard work.
“There is no shortcut to success. You have to be bold and committed,” said Thabeet, who steered the Huskies to a 31-5 record and a Final Four berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament.
He was also twice voted the defensive player of the year in the Big East conference.
“Some people think success comes overnight. They don’t want to work for it,” he added, and criticized Tanzanian sports officials for what he described as a lot of lip service.
“Some people always come to visit me in the United States and they say that they have been sent to check on me and see how I am progressing with the game. It can sound ridiculous, because the same leaders have failed to put things back home in order,” he explained.
He was spotted by a US scout during a regional basketball tournament in Kenya and was offered a scholarship at the Cypress Community Christian school in Houston.
“I went to the US at the age of 13 and I was nothing in basketball,” he said. “I had to trust people I never met before because I knew what I was doing. The only people who were supporting me back home were my family, especially my mother.”
Thabeet joined the University of Connecticut in June 2006, where he averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocked shots per game and was ranked the second all-time shot-blocker on the Big East list.
Thabeet decided to forgo his final year to enter the NBA and was drafted second overall by the Memphis Grizzles.
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