NBA Thread

I completely understand why he went pro. He was a guaranteed lottery pick and ended up going 2nd. But I disagree with the idea that there was zero reason for him to come back. Thabeet, as a freshman, was about as raw as they come. He couldn't even cleanly catch a ball in the post. His sophomore year, he started to develop a bit and could defend in the paint without fouling like he always did his freshman year. His junior year, he was an absolute stud defensively and was showing some flashes at the offensive end. He'd developed some low-post moves, was becoming a decent free throw shooter for his size, however, he would still get absolutely DOMINATED by more physical forwards and centers. For as naturally gifted as Thabeet was, guys like Dajuan Blair and Luke friggin' Harangody would still regularly outmuscle and outwork him down low. And those are guys who are 2nd rd. NBA talent. Clearly, Calhoun was coaching Thabeet up well over the years and each season, Thabeet had refined one of the weaker aspects of his game from the year before. After his last season, his biggest knock from scouts was his lack of toughness. A 4th year in CT, where he would unquestionably have been THE guy on the team and Jimmy Calhoun no doubt would have been pegging him in the face with basketballs every day in practice to toughen him up, might have gone a long way in instilling in him the toughness he'd need to play well in the pros.

I think he's doomed to underachieve, but then again, you can never tell. I hope he turns into a good player, but boy could we have used him this year.