by Kelley Evans
Special to the Tri-State Defender

Kelley Evans

Hasheem Thabeet – the Memphis Grizzlies first-round (and the NBA's second overall) draft pick – in the D-League.

Accepting that fact is a tall, painful order for many Grizz fans. Count me among them.

The question is will Thabeet, all 7-foot-3 of him, look at this as a learning experience?  The culture shock of North Dakota aside, we sure hope so.

On Sunday, Thabeet finished with 19 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks in his second game since being assigned to the Grizzlies D-League team, the Dakota Wizards. On Tuesday, he scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and had 13 rebounds. In 31 minutes, he blocked four shots, which all helped in the end result for the Wizards’—a 102-81 victory over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds at the Bismarck Civic Center.

A young Grizzlies fan has Hasheem Thabeet right where she wants him during a fundraiser (Feb. 22) at Boscos to raise funds and awareness for the Grizzlies Academy Scholarship Fund. Grizzlies Academy, which opened in 2003, is a “second-chance” high school for students two years behind in grade level, located in Downtown Memphis. (Photo by Warren Roseborough)

That’s Bismarck as in “the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota, the county seat of Burleigh County…the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo…population was 55,532 at the 2000 census.” Thanks Wikipedia.

After being drafted, Grizzlies fans – some of us begrudgingly – accepted the fact that this was “our guy,” and we embraced the hopeful. We got Thabeet averaging 2.5 points in 10.3 minutes, in more than 50 games. We knew becoming comfortable on offense would be a stepping-stone, but we were all willing to believe in him.  Having an offensive powerhouse in our starters, we figured his presence on defense could contribute mightily. His primary function would be to block and alter shots while gathering as many rebounds as possible.  

This has been touch and go with Thabeet. We watched his numbers slowly decline and his playing time go to almost non-existent as Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi stepped up with the second unit.  Haddadi, who also spent time in the D-League, has grabbed some attention with his play in the past few games.

Thabeet is sharing his D-League experience with Grizzlies teammate Lester Hudson. Hudson, whose basketball journey includes Central High School, Southwest Tennessee Community College and the University of Tennessee-Martin, was dispatched to the Maine Red Claws during his time with the Boston Celtics. He averaged 14.6 points, 4.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds in five games.  Now in his second D-League assignment, he was 3-of-12 from the field for nine points in 23 minutes against Fort Wayne.

On Tuesday night, Hudson came off the bench with 14 points and eight assists in 25 minutes.

Best-case scenario would be a quick return of the two to Memphis, complete with the mental toughness that will help the Grizz get their longed-for playoff groove on.

I keep reminding myself that behind the glitz and glamour, the NBA is a business. Its employees have responsibilities. It is Thabeet’s responsibility to get ready and be ready at all times when called upon.  So push yourself, Thabeet. People are pulling for you.

Maybe, just maybe, the D-League is the answer.