Break down of future Pro’s: Tyler Hansbrough

Tyler Hansbrough

Now that I’ve done the breakdown for Ty Lawson, it’s time to look at another player from Chapel Hill heading into this year’s National Basketball Association draft. This time I am going to focus on Tyler Hansbrough, the 6’9″/230 lb. power forward, who two years ago won the National Player of the Year and has been loved by Carolina like few players before, while receiving plenty of hate from both the media and the analysts when it comes to his chances in the pro’s. To all of those people that do not see Hansbrough making it to the next level, but more importantly, sticking around, I say this: think back to how many times you have thought (if not said) this guy or that guy took this play/quarter/game off. When you watch the senior from Poplar Bluff that thought will never enter your mind.

Yes, in a lot of ways the big drawback for Hansbrough is that he’s a tweener (in between position), not a four yet not quite a five. Some can argue that when Tyler is lined up against a bigger player he seems to fade away and not be the same effective player that he is against players of his size. Others can argue that when put into a double team he isn’t as good as he can be passing it out and tries too much to split the defense. This is all fine and dandy, and can be true (or not), but let’s also realize this, if we are going to say that Hansbrough won’t be as effective in the NBA as he was at UNC you cannot believe that the power forward is going to be double teamed in the pro’s, and if he goes in the mid 20′s, as a lot of the mocks believe he will, the reality is that he is going to be on a team where he will be getting very little attention. Or at least at the beginning he will, because college or pro, Hansbrough is going to go hard every single play and he is going to find a way to make it to the free throw line. A big man, who can take punishment, go to the line and make the free throws is, and will always be, useful to any team.

We all know that Hansbrough can run for a big man, he proved that for four years at Chapel Hill, but I also believe that he has decent enough moves to play in the paint, while having a good enough outside shot not to be a liability to anyone drafting him. Will he be the player that leads a team to a title at the next level? Probably not, but he will be that player that with his work ethic, smart basketball IQ and physical toughness, will work the hardest and give the most to the team as they make it to the NBA Finals. Because, we can say 1 or a 1,000 negatives about this young man, but what is a fact, a reality, is that he is a winner and Hansbrough is a big part of the reason that Carolina did what they did in the last four years.

 And I will end this small breakdown with this. Some people have even said that a drawback to Hansbrough is that he is older than most going into the draft. I mean, c’mon, maturity should be a positive, no? Instead people have found a way to make it into a negative, and that is just mind boggling in my opinion. Sure, when talking about Hansbrough many will find things to critize, but the intangibles in this player are many and the fact that he committed himself to North Carolina and his head coach, Roy Williams, to win the title is something to be admired in a day and age where a lot of players are just looking out for themselves. Think about this, Hansbrough can shoot free throws and he can rebound. The first skill is all about commitment to working on it and “the fundamentals/basics”, while the second is all about desire. So, while he might never be an All Star or a franchise player, Hansbrough is going to be one of those players that can take a team over the hump due to the fact that he is going to give it his all, all the time.

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