Hansbrough, Tar Heels get it done
Year of the Ox
Derek Oxford
Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: Sports
Is Tyler Hansbrough the greatest college basketball player of all time?
Is that a question that can even be answered?
Sitting at Buffalo Wild Wings watching the title game Monday night, I watched as North Carolina flexed its muscle early and ran the upstart Michigan State Spartans out of Ford Field, winning the national championship in the process.
As much as I love watching underdogs overcome the odds and win, I felt as though the Tar Heels deserved their shot at glory just as much as Michigan State would have savored its one shining moment.
I don't think Detroit would have stood had the Spartans won. That city might have burned to the ground if mighty North Carolina had been upset.
And I don't really care either way about Hansbrough.
But what was painstakingly clear Monday night was this - basketball is bigger than just one person.
Sure, your team can have a LeBron or a Kobe, or in this case, a Hansbrough, but if five guys aren't working together to reach a common goal, you're not going to cut down the nets.
People love Hansbrough for his work ethic. People hate him for it.
People love Hansbrough for his attitude. People hate him for it.
When you're a star, either you will be adored or abhorred. It's that simple.
I've got friends who think he's the Antichrist, and also have friends who think he's the next Bill Walton.
Whatever your opinion, you have to look at facts, and the facts are that Hansbrough stayed for four years at a college, was named first-team All-American during those four years and won a championship.
No one will ever be able to take that away from him.
The only problem is that people tend to forget who really makes Hansbrough who he is.
Guys like Danny Green, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson make UNC the power that it is, and that it will continue to be as long as Roy Williams is coaching there.
Who would have thought that a kid from Poplar Bluff, Mo., would become a North Carolina Tar Heel and step on the same court on which so many greats played before him?
Williams believed in the kid and he delivered, much to the delight of the UNC faithful, who probably felt the program was headed for decline after the 2005 title team was decimated by graduation and NBA draftees.
Hansbrough would likely be the first to tell you, however, that it's not about him, but the guys who are with him every day who put in the work just like he does.
He may be a great post player, and he can score and rebound with the best of them, but if Ty Lawson doesn't beat his man off the dribble before flicking a pass to him for a dunk, he doesn't score.
There's a reason he's the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leading scorer - he's had great assist men and a phenomenal supporting cast to back him up.
I don't doubt for a second that Hansbrough is the player he is today because of the people at North Carolina that have made him better and have worked with him.
If he was at any other school, I don't think he accomplishes what he did in four years at UNC.
He's arguably the most polarizing player in college basketball history.
The question I asked at the beginning may never be truly answered, although one thing can be answered.
Love him or hate him, Tyler Hansbrough was going to give 110 percent effort to lead his team to victory.
We are left to debate his legacy. He will take his trophy.
Derek Oxford is a senior staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
Is that a question that can even be answered?
Sitting at Buffalo Wild Wings watching the title game Monday night, I watched as North Carolina flexed its muscle early and ran the upstart Michigan State Spartans out of Ford Field, winning the national championship in the process.
As much as I love watching underdogs overcome the odds and win, I felt as though the Tar Heels deserved their shot at glory just as much as Michigan State would have savored its one shining moment.
I don't think Detroit would have stood had the Spartans won. That city might have burned to the ground if mighty North Carolina had been upset.
And I don't really care either way about Hansbrough.
But what was painstakingly clear Monday night was this - basketball is bigger than just one person.
Sure, your team can have a LeBron or a Kobe, or in this case, a Hansbrough, but if five guys aren't working together to reach a common goal, you're not going to cut down the nets.
People love Hansbrough for his work ethic. People hate him for it.
People love Hansbrough for his attitude. People hate him for it.
When you're a star, either you will be adored or abhorred. It's that simple.
I've got friends who think he's the Antichrist, and also have friends who think he's the next Bill Walton.
Whatever your opinion, you have to look at facts, and the facts are that Hansbrough stayed for four years at a college, was named first-team All-American during those four years and won a championship.
No one will ever be able to take that away from him.
The only problem is that people tend to forget who really makes Hansbrough who he is.
Guys like Danny Green, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson make UNC the power that it is, and that it will continue to be as long as Roy Williams is coaching there.
Who would have thought that a kid from Poplar Bluff, Mo., would become a North Carolina Tar Heel and step on the same court on which so many greats played before him?
Williams believed in the kid and he delivered, much to the delight of the UNC faithful, who probably felt the program was headed for decline after the 2005 title team was decimated by graduation and NBA draftees.
Hansbrough would likely be the first to tell you, however, that it's not about him, but the guys who are with him every day who put in the work just like he does.
He may be a great post player, and he can score and rebound with the best of them, but if Ty Lawson doesn't beat his man off the dribble before flicking a pass to him for a dunk, he doesn't score.
There's a reason he's the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leading scorer - he's had great assist men and a phenomenal supporting cast to back him up.
I don't doubt for a second that Hansbrough is the player he is today because of the people at North Carolina that have made him better and have worked with him.
If he was at any other school, I don't think he accomplishes what he did in four years at UNC.
He's arguably the most polarizing player in college basketball history.
The question I asked at the beginning may never be truly answered, although one thing can be answered.
Love him or hate him, Tyler Hansbrough was going to give 110 percent effort to lead his team to victory.
We are left to debate his legacy. He will take his trophy.
Derek Oxford is a senior staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
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