As THABEET goes on....

Hasheem Thabeet decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the 2009 NBA Draft on April 14th, 2009.

Here are a few details about Hasheem....

Hasheem Thabeet (born Hashim Thabit Manka on February 16, 1987 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) is a Tanzanian college basketball player for the UConn Huskies in the USA. At 7'3" and 263 lbs, Thabeet is the tallest player ever to play for the Huskies.

As a junior at UConn, Thabeet emerged on the national scene, averaging 13.6 points and 10.8 rebounds.

Thabeet earned his first career triple-double against Providence on January 31, 2009, with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.

He finished with 152 blocks on the season, and he is also known for the shots he prevents from ever being taken.

He was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year and was co-Big East Player of the Year with Pitts DeJuan Blair. He was also named Second Team All-America and National Defensive Player of the Year.

Thabeet surpassed the 1,000 point mark against Purdue on March 26, 2009. He was the 3rd UConn player that season to do so (Jerome Dyson and AJ Price were the others).

So who would you take first? A seven foot defensive stopper and team anchor like Thabeet, a 6 foot 10 inch 250 pound manchild juggernaut like Blake Griffin or the seasoned "possibly overated" 4 year hustle man Tyler Hansbrough.

If you had the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, who do you take?