On the cover of the latest ESPN the Magazine, UConn's Hasheem Thabeet did a little trash talking. The UConn center was on the cover with some of his smack written alongside his photo:
Asked who he thought were the toughest big men in college, Thabeet said, "Nobody's better than me, only more experienced. I played Luke Harangody and he was not tough. Tyler Hansbrough? I don't see nothing."
Both Hansbrough and Harangody are pre-season first team All Americans. Pretty strong words for the 7-3 Thabeet. He only averaged 10.5 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Huskies last year.
Harangody, who is seven inches shorter than Thabeet and also plays in the Big East, averaged 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds last season. In both UConn-Notre Dame meetings last year, Harangody outplayed Thabeet. In their final meeting, actually a Huskies win, Harangody poured in 32 points and 16 rebounds. Thabeet? Four points and 10 boards.
Hansbrough, also seven inches shorter than Thabeet, led the ACC in scoring (22.6 ppg) and rebounding (10.2 reb) while winning National Player of the Year honors. Perhaps Hanbrough and Thabeet will meet down the road as ESPN ranked them as the top two teams in the nation.
UConn's Hasheem Thabeet Smacks on Hansbrough and Harangody originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
