On Thursday afternoon, we learned that University of Connecticut men's basketball standouts Silas Demary Jr. and Tarris Reed Jr. are officially up for the national Defensive Player of the Year Award. 

Well, one former Huskies standout who won the award twice is getting an honor too: Former big man Hasheem Thabeet is going to be the next member of the 'Huskies of Honor,' and he'll be enshrined on Feb. 14. The program made the announcement on Thursday afternoon after the announcements about Demary and Reed.

The UConn women's program inducted Aaliyah Edwards to its Huskies of Honor on Wednesday before a lopsided win against Xavier.

A 7'3 rim protector from Tanzania, Thabeet played three seasons with the Huskies from 2006-2009. He played in 100 games in total, starting 99, and he was impactful right from day one. Offensively, he averaged 10.3 ppg for his career, including 13.6 in his junior campaign. He also pulled down 8.5 rebounds a game in his career and had 4.2 blocks per contest.

He led the Big East in blocks each of his three years and he was named a second-team All-American as a junior.

The Huskies got to the Final Four in his junior year, losing to Michigan State.

The No. 2 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Thabeet was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies. Never able to replicate his college impact, he spent parts of five years in the league with the Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged just 2.2 ppg, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.

--The 1998-1999 national title team

--Ray Allen

--Wes Bialosuknia

--Scott Burrell

--Caron Butler

--Jim Calhoun

--Bill Corley

--Walt Dropo

--Khalid El-Amin

--Rudy Gay

--Hugh Greer

--Richard Hamilton

--Tony Hanson

--Tony Kimball

--Donyell Marshall

--Shabazz Napier

--Emeka Okafor

--Worthy Patterson

--Art Quimby

--Clifford Robinson

--Dee Rowe

--Chris Smith

--Corny Thompson

--John Toner

--Kemba Walker

--Vin Yokabaskas

--Huskies football alums Joe Fagnano and Skyler Bell recently participated in the East-West Shrine Game, with Fagnano receiving high marks for his performance. Both players are possible NFL draft choices, with Bell looking like a sure selection at wide receiver. He was named an All-American in 2025.

--As mentioned, the Huskies women's basketball team rolled past Xavier on Wednesday night to move to a perfect 22-0 on the season. They'll be back in action on Sunday afternoon (12 p.m. ET) when they host No. 15 Tennessee, one of the most decorated programs in the history of the women's game. The Volunteers have won eight national championships.

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