Hongera sana Hasheem Thabeet

Grizzlies select Hasheem Thabeet with No. 2 pick in NBA draft

NBA commissioner David Stern,center, poses with NBA draft prospects Hasheem Thabeet, top, from UConn; Stephen Curry, left, from Davidson; Ricky Rubio, second from right, of Spain; and Blake Griffin, right, of Oklahoma, on Thursday before the first round of the NBA draft.

Ten minutes into the NBA draft, Hasheem Thabeet became the first player in league history drafted from Tanzania.

But the 7-3 center could not have made that historic leap without pivotal stops at Cypress Christian and Connecticut.

“It feels good,” said Thabeet, who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies. “It’s a dream come true. This gives other children from Tanzania hope.”

But Thabeet’s road from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to his rise to basketball prominence in the United States hasn’t always been smooth. soma zaidi na hapa pia