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Thabeet named Big East POY

University of Connecticut junior men's basketball player Hasheem Thabeet has been named the BIG EAST Conference Co-Player-of-the-Year for 2008-2009, it was announced Tuesday evening at Madison Square Garden. Thabeet, who was also named BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year for the second consecutive season as well as a member of the 2008-2009 All-BIG EAST Conference First Team, shares the Player-of-the-Year award with Pittsburgh sophomore center DeJuan Blair. UConn’s Thabeet enters post-season play after averaging a “double-double” in 30 regular season games with 13.6 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game while adding a league-leading 4.5 blocked shots per game. Connecticut posted a regular season record of 27-3 and finished tied for second place in the BIG EAST Conference with a 15-3 league mark. The BIG EAST Player-of-the-Year honor for Thabeet marks the seventh time a Connecticut basketball standout has been the recipient of the award in the 30-year history of the league. Other UConn stars honored as BIG EAST Player-of-the-Year include: Donyell Marshall in 1993-94, Ray Allen in 1995-96, Richard Hamilton in both 1997-98 & 1998-99, Caron Butler in 2001-02, and Emeka Okafor in 2003-04.