Tyler Hansbrough

Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3 1985 in Columbia, Missouri) is an American collegiate basketball player for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill men's basketball team. Nicknamed "Psycho T", Hansbrough is especially known for his tremendous work ethic, hustle and intensity on the basketball court. Hansbrough was a member of the 2006 and 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference All Conference Team and the 2006 ACC Freshman of the Year.

[edit] High school career

Hansbrough attended Poplar Bluff High School in Poplar Bluff, Missouri and led the Mules to consecutive Missouri state championships in the MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) Class 5 for the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons. In 2005, Hansbrough helped Poplar Bluff beat the then undefeated and number one team in the nation, Vashon High School. While in high school he made the Missouri All-State team twice and averaged 28.2 points and 13.4 rebounds per game as a senior. While still in high school Hansbrough accepted an offer to play basketball for the University of North Carolina, turning down scholarship offers to play at Missouri, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky.

[edit] Collegiate career

[edit] Freshman Season

Tyler Hansbrough had arguably the most successful freshman season in UNC history. He was the first freshman ever to lead the University of North Carolina in scoring with an average of 18.9 points per game. He was second in the ACC in scoring only behind J. J. Redick of Duke. Additionally, Hansbrough was unanimously selected as the 2006 ACC Freshman of the Year and was also a unanimous selection to the 2006 All Conference Team. He was second to Redick in voting for the ACC Player of the Year award. Hansbrough’s most memorable game as a freshman came on February 15, 2006 when he scored 40 points in a home contest against Georgia Tech. This mark set the record for most points ever scored by a freshman in a game in ACC history and for the most points scored in the Dean Smith Center.

[edit] Sophomore Season

With the University of North Carolina signing what was considered by many publications to be the best recruiting class in the country in 2006, Tyler Hansbrough’s minutes per game took a slight drop but he was just as productive as he was during his freshman season. At the end of the regular season, Hansbrough was averaging 18.8 points per game along with 8.0 rebounds per game.

On March 4, 2007, Hansbrough was involved in a notable incident with Gerald Henderson, Jr. of Duke. While Hansbrough went up for a layup with 14.5 seconds remaining in the game, Henderson's right elbow struck Hansbrough in the face during an attempt to block the shot breaking Hansbrough's nose.^[1] Hansbrough immediately went to the locker room, and Henderson was subsequently ejected from the game and suspended for one additional game (a loss to North Carolina State in the ACC Tournament) for the flagrant foul. Despite his injury, North Carolina went on to win 86-72 against rivals Duke, in which Hansbrough had 26 points and a career-high 17 rebounds."^[2]

After the game, Henderson claimed that the elbow was unintentional, stating, "Tyler went up, shot faked or whatever, he got all our guys in the air and I came down on him. I wasn't trying to hurt him or anything like that. It just turned out way worse than what I intended.” "^[3]

North Carolina coach Roy Williams accepted this explanation, stating, "I don't think there is any intentional planned thing, 'I'm going to go get the guy.' I think it was an unfortunate thing that happened during the game.'

Later that night, medical staff reported that Hansbrough's nose was not broken, but an X-ray taken on Monday morning revealed a small nondisplaced fracture. Williams confirmed that Hansbrough would be fitted with a custom prosthetic mask to protect his nose, and would not miss any games as a result of the injury. Hansbrough stopped wearing the mask during the first half of North Carolina's NCAA tournament second round game against Michigan State University. He scored 33 points in his first game without the mask.

Wayne Ellington, another North Carolina player, who just so happened to play high school basketball with Gerald Henderson gave Henderson Hansbrough's phone number to apologize. Gerald Henderson Jr. has since apologized to Tyler Hansbrough.

Jay Bilas, former Duke player and CBS and ESPN commentator said during the recent UNC vs. MSU game that he saw Tyler Hansbrough play in high school in Missouri and knew he'd play in the Final Four someday.

[edit] Personal life

Tyler Hansbrough is the son of Gene Hansbrough and Tami Wheat. His father is an orthopedic surgeon and his mother is a former Miss Missouri winner. Hansbrough’s brother and former high school teammate, Ben, plays guard for Mississippi State.

[edit] Records

• University of North Carolina—Most Points for a freshman in an individual game: 40 against Georgia Tech, February 15, 2006.
• University of North Carolina—Most Points by a Tar Heel in the Dean Smith Center: 40 against Georgia Tech, February 15, 2006
• Poplar Bluff High School—Most total Points: 1,663.
• Poplar Bluff High School—Most Points in a season: 689, in 2004.
• Poplar Bluff High School—Most Rebounds in a game: 19, on two separate occasions.

[edit] Awards

• 2007 NABC First Team All-American
• 2007 Sporting News First Team All-American
• Unanimous 2007 All-ACC First Team Selection

• 2006 AP Third Team All-American
• 2006 Rupp Award First Team All-American
• Sporting News 2006 First Team All-American Selection
• 2006 First Team ACC All-Tournament Team Selection
• Unanimous 2006 ACC All-Freshman Team
• Unanimous 2006 All-ACC First Team Selection (Hansbrough is the first freshman ever to earn this honor)
• Unanimous 2006 ACC Freshman of the Year
• 10 time ACC Rookie of the Week (ties Kenny Anderson of Georgia Tech for most all time)

• 2005 McDonald's All-American^[4]
• 2005 Parade All-American^[5]

• Poplar Bluff Showdown All-Tournament Team (2002-05)
• SEMO All-Conference Team (2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04)
• Missouri All-State Team (2002-03, 2003-04)

[edit] References

[edit] External links and sources

• Official website of Tyler Hansbrough
• University of North Carolina player biography of Tyler Hansbrough
• Recruiting profile of Tyler Hansbrough by Scout.com
• NBA Draft Profile on Collegehoops.net
• Sports Illustrated Blog interview with Hansbrough
• Article of Hansbrough training for 2006-07 season
• Tyler Hansbrough News