‘ ‘ ‘ NEW YORK ‘- At first glance, it doesn’t look like DeJuan Blair and Hasheem Thabeet have… ‘ ‘ ‘ NEW YORK ‘- At first glance, it doesn’t look like DeJuan Blair and Hasheem Thabeet have too much in common. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Whether Blair is flipping Connecticut’s star center over his shoulder or Thabeet is pulling Blair down after a loose ball, it seems like the two simply hate each other. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But after a closer look, the two have more in common than most people might think. And it appears now that they are getting used to sharing. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair and Thabeet split Big East player-of-the-year honors last week in New York City, making Blair the third Pitt player in history to earn the award. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair and Thabeet had their fair share of pushing and shoving on the court, but Thabeet said that while it might look like war when they face each other in a game, there couldn’t be more respect between the two. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘All that talking, that fighting, it’s just part of the game,’ said Thabeet after receiving the award at Madison Square Garden. ‘Every day, people make a big deal about me against Blair or me against [Greg] Monroe or Blair against Luke Harangody. It’s really about the team, and we have respect. I think sharing the award was a great decision.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The decision was a tough one for the voters in the Big East. Five different players earned first-place votes, and Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said he would have been fine with it going to any of those players. But the choice of Blair and Thabeet was backed by the numbers. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair, who averaged 15.6 points and a league-leading 12.4 rebounds this season, was the only unanimous selection to the all-Big East first team. The 6-foot-7-inch sophomore helped Pitt to its first No. 1-ranking in the polls, while beating Thabeet and Connecticut twice ‘mdash; both when it ranked No. 1 overall. Thabeet, meanwhile, was the Big East defensive player of the year, averaging 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Coming into the season, Blair said he had something to prove. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair said that while Thabeet’s numbers were somewhat expected ‘mdash; Thabeet is a 7-foot-3-inch junior and a likely lottery pick in the NBA ‘mdash; his numbers might have come as a surprise to the media and fans. But he said he knew since his high school days that he could get to this level. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who recruited Blair heavily when he played at Pittsburgh’s Schenley High, said he was another one of the people who knew what Blair could accomplish in such a short period of time at Pitt. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘He’s such a good person [and] a hard worker. It’s great to see,’ said Huggins. ‘And his hands, his broad shoulders, he just has it.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair’s dominance this season, especially recently against players like Thabeet, is the reason his name recently sliced through the list of possible first-round NBA Draft choices after this season ends. Many people didn’t consider Blair’ a top-notch prospect heading into this season, but he consistently showed that he’s one of the best centers in the league and is now considered a possible top-20 pick if he decides to leave school early. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair said that after the season ends, he’ll sit down with Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, his family and others to decide on his future. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Both first-team all-Big East selections, Blair and Thabeet led their teams to No. 1 rankings and 15-3 conference records this season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Both had first-game exits in the Big East tournament but are expected by several experts around the country to make runs to the Final Four in Detroit.