Another good outing for Hansbrough

NBA Summer League

Yesterday the Indiana Pacers played their third game in the Orlando Summer League. And for the third time in a row the newest Pacer, Tyler Hansbrough, was part of why his squad won the game, this time defeating the Utah Jazz by the final of 95 to 79. The ex Tar Heel scored 24 points in this game, 14 coming from the charity stripe (where he was perfect), while also grabbing five boards. Looking at that 14 for 14 from the free throw line sure makes me wonder where all those so called experts/analysts are that kept saying that Hansbrough would not get to the line anywhere near as much in the pro game. While most do not like Dick Vitale, I have to give him credit when he backed Hansbrough’s pick on draft night, saying he was going to be good and that teams need to let go of the “potential” players and take the ones that are a security. The more the young man from Poplar Bluff keeps playing the more I think people are going to join that bandwagon.

As I look around the net I keep reading that the combination of Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough could be something that Indian Pacers fans are going to see a lot during the upcoming season (and for years to come). So far, in these three games, the two men taking control of the paint have been doing a heck of a job, and seem to compliment one another. From what Larry Bird is saying Tyler Hansbrough is part of a bigger plan for the team that will culminate in a couple of series:

“My vision was to get as many of a core group of guys together that we can move forward with. I just want to put together a group that plays hard, works hard, every single night,” he said. “Then when we have the room [in 2011], we add a star or two to put us over the hump.”

Tyler Hansbrough

With the likes of players such asHansbrough, Hibbert, Brandon Rush and Danny Granger Indiana has a pretty good base to form something special for years to come. How good will it be? No one can be sure, not two years away from the time where the team can go after the big guns, but if you were to say that this is the beginning of things to come you would have to say that it should be good times rolling in the years ahead for Bird and his franchise. With two more games left before the Summer Leagues goes from the sunshine state to Sin City I will definitely keep an eye on the power forward and how he does in his last two games.

Shortlink: