Blake Griffin Schools Tyler Hansbrough but Tar Heels Advance to the Final Four

(Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

It wasn’t supposed to end this way.

Not for Blake Griffin.

The Oklahoma phenom was destined for so much more. Cutting down the nets after defeating North Carolina was supposed to only be the beginning.

A National Championship, player of the year honors, the number one overall pick in the NBA entry draft, multiple championship rings and a trip to the NBA Hall of Fame, all things that seem to have been pre-ordained for Oklahoma’s poster-boy.

Blessed with other-worldly athleticism, and the desire of a champion, not even Thor himself was supposed to be able to derail the freight-train that is Blake Griffin.

(As a side note…for those who feel it necessary to question Griffin’s desire, I urge you to find footage of the Sooner’s loss to Texas; the game that Griffin sustained a concussion. It took three members of Jeff Capel’s staff to hold Griffin back from checking himself back into the game.)

The stage was set for what would have been the crowning moment in Griffin’s season.

First, out-duel Tyler Hansbrough in the Elite Eight. Then, after taking down last year’s player of the year, and one of college basketball’s greatest players, out-work Pitt’s man-child, DeJuan Blair, on the glass to solidify his status as the best big man in the land.

Well, Villanova destroyed the potential Final Four matchup the day before, so, at the least, thoroughly out-performing the ACC’s all-time leading scorer would have to suffice.

Despite being held scoreless for the first 11 and a half minutes of the game, Griffin outperformed Hansbrough in nearly ever facet of the game.

Griffin not only led all scorers and rebounders, he nearly tripled the production of his fellow first-team All-American.

Griffin finished with 23 points on 9-12 shooting, and hauled in 16 rebounds. Hansbrough, on the other hand, was non-existent with 8 points on 2-4 shooting, and 6 rebounds.

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