Here’s the thing: I’m not the biggest Tyler Hansbrough fan. Never have been, never will be. I think he is a very solid, very good COLLEGE basketball player. I think he will have mediocre success at the next level, and that’s about it.
Hansbrough is not a good shooter. He can hit the occasional midrange jump shot, and his free throw percentage has been hovering between 73-80 percent since he arrived at Carolina in 2005. He is a good scorer, but nothing special. He has never finished in the top 10 in the country, and that includes last year, when he won Player of the Year.
He is a good rebounder too, but again, not the best, never even breaking the top 15. He doesn’t block many shots. He doesn’t get many steals. In fact, he is never really at the top of any statistical categories.
However, there is one thing I admire in Tyler, and it is something which seems to have disappeared from all sports.
I admire his absolute, unbelievable, unrelenting passion—his drive, not to be the best at his position, not even to be the best player in the country, but his will to win: every loose ball, every rebound, and every single game. It has been a long time since I have seen that kind of fire in any athlete’s eyes.
Hansbrough is what a true fan of sports expects of his athlete.
You must want to practice, you must want to learn, and you must NEED to win more than anyone else. Hustle, a word that has almost disappeared in the NBA and is beginning to disappear in college basketball, epitomizes what makes Hansbrough so special.
For someone who isn’t a fan of Hansbrough, he still has the ability to make me chuckle in disbelief when I am watching a game and he can go into a crowd of four people, get fouled by all of them at once, and still end up with the ball. It is almost as if he is the only one trying. What happened to this?
What happened to the football player that refuses to run out of bounds, the basketball player that does not take one play off, the baseball player who runs through first base every time he makes contact?
Instead we live in an age where RBs run out of bounds more often than not, basketball players regularly take plays (and in some cases quarters) off, and a host of baseball players are happy to jog down the first base line assuming they just won’t be able to beat the throw.
Are you serious? You get paid to play a sport. If you aren’t going to go all out on every freaking play, then you have no business playing in the first place.
Believe me, I am aware these players exist and there are still some of them out there, but in my opinion things would be a lot more interesting if everyone was like Adrian Peterson, Marion Barber III, Ichiro Suzuki, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Garnett—if everyone...was a Hansbrough.
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about 1 month ago
Great article! I am a Hansbrough and Tar Heel fan, but I am also a fan of hustle. I love seeing guys go hard, all out, every play. When I see guys dogging it, I feel sick to my stomach. I would give anything to have the ability and health to have continued playing the sports I love at higher levels. These guys take it for granted.
about 1 month ago
There is one stat he is at the top of -- he got to the free throw line (and made more attempts) than any player in ACC history. I don't know where he stands in the record books w/ free throws made but it must be near the top. Nice article ... I like Hansbrough exactly because of what you wrote of ... hustle. It's good to see, and rare these days. He'll probably be a second-stringer NBA and I doubt he'll excel much there, but he'll probably go down as the only four-time unanimous All-American in the ACC.
about 1 month ago
Very nicely written. I am a Hansbrough fan and a life long UNC fan also. I would have to agree with most of the assessment regarding Hansbrough as he is a great college basketball player. No one knows how a player will do in the NBA, if they make it, yet I am positive that Tyler will do everything he can to adjust to the next level. He has done it at UNC improving in various aspects of his game and I feel it will not be any different in the NBA. I see him as a second teamer on an NBA team but I can say with confidence that no one will out hustle or out determine this young man. Pedroia was mentioned in this article (I am a Red Sox fan) and he was not given any chance to succeed in MLB but with hard work, hustle and the chance to play look at what he has done despite his lack of size and supposed lack of talent. I am getting a very tired of pro basketball players dogging it until the playoffs. What the heck are they getting paid so much money for then? Great points!!!!
about 1 month ago
What's you definition of "not a good shooter"? His percentage is one of the highest in the nation and his free throw % for a big man is heads and shoulders (pardon the pun) ahead of his peers. He consistently (as in almost every single game) posts double-doubles ... typically 20 and 10. How can you say these are weak statistics? I appreciate the premise of your article but if you expect people to believe your stats, I think you need to actually post them, 'cause he is one of the best scorers and rebounders (when you combine the stats) in the nation.
from about 1 month ago
Wrong Nathan about the free throw percentage. There's a player who was drafted by the Nets this year who shot better from the free throw line than Hansbrough? His name Ryan Anderson. One of if not the most underrated collge players last year.
Fans were so enamored with Kevin Love and OJ Mayo, these fans forget that Anderson was the Pac-10 leading scorer. To refresh your memory Anderson was at 21.1 points per game 9.9 rebounds per game, 87 percent from the free throw line, and shot 49 percent from the three point line.
Anderson has already proven he can play in the NBA offensively. In just 16 minutes per game for the Nets this year Anderson has shot 53 percent from the field, 62.5 percent from the three point line, shooting 91 percent from the free throw line, and is averaging 8.2 points per game while grabbing 3.5 rebounds.
Compared to Tyler Hansbrough last year who averaged 22.6 points per game, 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 54 percent from the field, he is definitely not an outside shooter, and went 81 percent from the line.
The problem for Hansbrough is that he doesn't have the ability to stretch defenses out like a Ryan Anderson. Anderson can shoot from pretty much anywhere on the court where as Hansbrough can't. Hansbrough will have to develop a 12-18 foot jumper to become effective in the NBA. Most of Hansbrough moves come within 5-10 feet of the basket. It's going to be tough for him to be effective with the athletes in the NBA.
from about 1 month ago
What I meant when I wrote that was he can't shoot the basketball, he is a big man, and as such his points come from free throws, offensive rebounds, dunks, lay-ups and the occasional mid-range jump shot...with the game on the line he isn't going to create a jump-shot from the perimeter, in fact in aa tight spot with 5 seconds left...Ellington, Lawson, Green any number of players are more likely to get the ball and try and win the game. What kind of a player of the year doesn't have the ball in his hands to win the game for his team? Don't get me wrong I am not doubting his numbers nor making the claim that he isn't a great basketball player, just that he probably isn't or shouldn't have been Player of the Year...he isn't a good shooter. And I mentioned his stats, which are good, but my point was simply that it may not be Player of the Year good.
from about 1 month ago
What I meant when I wrote that was he can't shoot the basketball, he is a big man, and as such his points come from free throws, offensive rebounds, dunks, lay-ups and the occasional mid-range jump shot...with the game on the line he isn't going to create a jump-shot from the perimeter, in fact in aa tight spot with 5 seconds left...Ellington, Lawson, Green any number of players are more likely to get the ball and try and win the game. What kind of a player of the year doesn't have the ball in his hands to win the game for his team? Don't get me wrong I am not doubting his numbers nor making the claim that he isn't a great basketball player, just that he probably isn't or shouldn't have been Player of the Year...he isn't a good shooter. And I mentioned his stats, which are good, but my point was simply that it may not be Player of the Year good.
from about 1 month ago
Steven, thanks for the stats ... I think they not only are great for your guy Ryan Anderson (who I agree was an excellent college player), but also good #s for Tyler -- it's hard to say that shooting 54% and averaging a double-double plus 81% from the line (higher than what the author of the article quoted) are not Player of the Year numbers. While I agree with the author's premise that Hansbrough's numbers were comparable to other players and that his hustle is what puts him over the top (his numbers alone might not do it), to say he's "not a good shooter" ... well, I have a hard time with that when you look at the #s you just posted. His mid-range jumper is absolutely deadly and I'll take a 54% FG and 81% FT shooter any way he wants to get them.
Domenic, I guess I understand your clarification about him not being a shooter, but I would say that after watching every UNC game since 2005 when I was in Iraq, they are happy to have the ball in Hansbrough's hands at the end of the game; but there are others who can shoot as well ... Ellington and Lawson have proven they can take the game-winning shots as well -- it's a function of how good UNC is, not a shot at Hansbrough. Secondly, your premise that you have to be a "shooter" to win the Player of the Year award seems a little off ... where does it leave Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, etc., etc.
I think someone who averages 20+ and 10+, hits 81% from the FT line and shows the intangibles that Tyler does is more than qualified for the award.
But I will go ahead and admit I'm biased since I graduated from UNC and live in Chapel Hill.
Fair enough? ;-)
I do however, agree w/ the author that Tyler won't do a whole lot at the next level.
Impressive stats for Ryan Anderson.
from about 1 month ago
Oh, and Steven, what was I "wrong" about exactly? You said FT %. I said he was better than his peers ... I didn't say every single one of them, but Ryan Anderson is not exactly what I'd call a peer ... Hansbrough is a PF / C, whereas Anderson was a PF / SF. But even if they are peers, they are both well ahead of their peers -- the average "big man" hits about 55-60% from the FT line. They both qualify as going above and beyond in that dept.
about 1 month ago
fantastic. from a unc fan (arguably the biggest), i appreciate this. i hear you on hansbrough's talent alone. the intangibles are what make him great, even legendary in the college ranks.
while he may not be an all-star in the nba, whatever team gets him is getting one heck of a sparkplug.
if everyone played like hansbrough though, it might almost be unwatchable. too many timeouts for broken noses and jersey changes...
about 1 month ago
The funny thing is that if Tyler Hansbrough was coming out in the late 80's or early 90's. Hansbrough would be better suited. Now the NBA has become more about the athletic type of big man. I will say this Hansbrough does shot the free throw well and you're right a lot of big men aren't that good from the line.
The energy players in the NBA today are not superstars. They are the role players. Players such as Matt Barnes, Matt Harpring, Leon Powe, Rony Turiaf, Paul Milsap, Andrew Bynum, Andris Biedrins, etc.....
about 1 month ago
The funny thing is that if Tyler Hansbrough was coming out in the late 80's or early 90's. Hansbrough would be better suited. Now the NBA has become more about the athletic type of big man. I will say this Hansbrough does shot the free throw well and you're right a lot of big men aren't that good from the line.
The energy players in the NBA today are not superstars. They are the role players. Players such as Matt Barnes, Matt Harpring, Leon Powe, Rony Turiaf, Paul Milsap, Andrew Bynum, Andris Biedrins, etc.....
about 1 month ago
Nathan...fair enough, we all have our own bias towards something, and I think everyone who has commented on my piece agrees that Hansbrough is one hell of a player, good shooter or not. Which is the point anyway...there's no way I wouldn't want a guy like that on my team.
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