Tyler Hansbrough or Michael Beasley?

The college basketball regular season has ended and conference tournaments are coming to a close.  This Sunday the brackets for March Madness are being revealed to the public and accolades are being handed out to the best of the best before the tourney begins.  There are many intriguing awards, but none have caused as many disputes over who should win as the national player of the year award.

While there are several players that put up superstar numbers and had a game-changing presence when they were on the court, there are two players that stick out the most: Tyler Hansbrough of UNC and Michael Beasley of Kansas State.  This past year, Hansbrough and Beasley have not only been the center pieces of their teams, but they have been dominant forces in college basketball, causing havoc for opponents to play against. 

One might think I'm just giving another opinion about who's better, but my opinion is biased seeing as I'm a Duke fan (if I said Beasley was better, people would say I dislike Hansbrough, but if I said Hansbrough was better, people would say I haven't watched Beasley enough).  So, instead of throwing out an opinion, I'll give the facts so everyone can decide for themselves who they think deserves to given the 2007-2008 National Player of the Year award.  Here is the breakdown of each player category by category:

Background information

Tyler Hansbrough is a Junior at the University of North Carolina and plays Forward for the Tar Heels.  He is 6'9'' and weighs 250 pounds.  Hansbrough was born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri and has a brother who plays for Mississippi State.  He made first team All-America as a freshman and a sophomore.

Michael Beasley is a freshman at Kansas State University and plays forward for the Wildcats.  He is 6'10'' and weighs 235 pounds.  Beasley was born in Washington DC and averaged 30 points and 10 rebounds a game as a freshman in high school.  He became an All-American as a Junior in high school

Major Offensive Statistics

Tyler Hansbrough shot .540% from the field and averaged 23.0 points per game (12th in the nation).  On the boards, Hansbrough has averaged 3.8 offensive rebounds per game.  However, Hansbrough only averaged .9 assists per game and is 0 for 5 behind the arc this season. 

Michael Beasley shot .535% from the field and .389% behind the arc.  Beasley's 26.5 points per game ranked third in the nation.  He also averaged 4.1 offensive rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Major Defensive Statistics

Tyler Hansborough averages 1.5 steals and .9 blocks per game.  He ranks 15th in the nation in rebounds per game with 10.4 (6.6 defensive RPG).

Michael Beasley averages 12.4 rebounds per game (8.3 defensive rebounds per game) which leads the nation.  He also averages 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

Small, but Important Numbers

Tyler Hansbrough went to the free throw line a league leading 331 times and made 81.3% of them.  He had 28 more free throw attempts then the person with the second most free throw attempts and 70 more than the player who had the 9th most attempts.  Hansbrough averaged 2.1 turnovers and 32.8 minutes per game.

MIchael Beasley made 76.7% of his 262 free throws (8th in the nation).  He also average 2.9 turnovers and 31.5 minutes per game.

Players Impact on Their Teams

North Carolina (29-2) is the number one team in the nation largely because of Hansbrough.  The two-time first team All-American is the leading rebounder on the number one rebounding team in the country.  When the going got rough, Hansbrough delivered.  UNC's starting point guard, Ty Lawson, got injured for a month and Hansbrough stepped his game.  He averaged 7 more PPG than he had before and the Tar Heels only lost once (to #3 Duke) without a key component to their team.  However, hansbrough has a talented supporting cast.  UNC has multiple players that will play in the NBA and a hall of fame coach to develop them.  Basically, Hansbrough made a good team great.

Kansas State went 20-11 and finished third in the Big 12.  Beasley is the only player with NBA potential on the Wildcats besides fellow forward Bill Walker.  Last Year Kansas State was 23-12 last year, but lost several players in the off season.  He's led the Wild Cats through the year and collected Big 12 player of the year honors.  Basically, Beasley made a bad team good.

There are the stats laid out for everyone to see.  This should help everyone decide who they think should win the 2007-2008 national player of the year award.