Tyler Hansbrough

As a freshman at North Carolina in 2005–06, Hansbrough became the only player in ACC history to earn First Team All-America honors as a freshman. He was honored by The Sporting News and Rupp,[6] and was named third-team All-America by the Associated Press, NABC and Basketball Times. He was only the third ACC freshman to earn AP All-America honors, joining Kenny Anderson and Stephon Marbury of Georgia Tech. He was selected the National Freshman of the Year by USBWA, ESPN.com, The Sporting News, and Basketball Times, and earned unanimous selection as the ACC Rookie of the Year and was the first freshman to earn unanimous first-team All-ACC honors in league history.[7] On February 15, 2006, Hansbrough set a Dean Smith Center scoring record and an ACC freshman scoring record when he scored 40 points in a home game against Georgia Tech.[8] Hansbrough had the highest scoring average ever by a Tar Heel freshman at 18.9 per game, good for second in the ACC in scoring. He became the first Tar Heel freshman to lead the team in scoring and rebounding, and was the first Tar Heel (and seventh ACC player) to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and steals in the same season.[9]

A consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2006–07, Hansbrough was voted UNC's Most Valuable Player by his teammates and coaches. He was a unanimous first-team All-ACC selection for the second consecutive year and led UNC (fourth in the ACC) in scoring with an average of 18.4 points per game. Tyler led the team and was second in the ACC in rebounds (7.9 per game) and grabbed double figures in rebounds 11 times. He was sixth in the ACC in field goal percentage and ninth in free throw percentage, and was one of three players (along with Florida State's Al Thornton and Boston College's Jared Dudley) to rank in the Top 10 in both field goal and free throw percentage.[10]

On March 4, 2007, Hansbrough had 26 points and 17 rebounds before suffering an injury in the closing seconds of the Tar Heels' 86–72 win over Duke, clinching the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. With 14.5 seconds left in the game, Hansbrough leaped for a rebound after a missed free throw attempt by a teammate. After the ball left his hand, he was struck in the face by Gerald Henderson's right elbow. The errant elbow broke Hansbrough's nose. Henderson was ejected from the game and received an automatic one-game suspension from the NCAA.[11]

As a junior in 2007–08, Hansbrough was named the consensus National Player of the Year (NPOY). He became the 11th Tar Heel to earn NPOY honors and was the fourth player in ACC history to win National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP and NCAA Regional MVP honors in the same season. He was voted the ACC Male Athlete of the Year, only the third Tar Heel to win the award in 24 years, and became the third player in ACC history to be unanimously selected three times to the All-ACC team, joining North Carolina State's David Thompson (1973–75) and Duke's Art Heyman (1961–63).[12]

Hansbrough tied the ACC single-season record by scoring in double figures in 39 games, and scored 882 points, second-most in school history, and the most since Lennie Rosenbluth had 895 in 1956–57. Hansbrough was second in total points in the NCAA behind Davidson's Stephen Curry (931), and had 399 rebounds, a UNC single-season record. He led the ACC in scoring and rebounding and ranked 12th nationally in scoring and 17th in rebounding, becoming the first player to lead the ACC in both categories since Antawn Jamison in 1997–98. Hansbrough's average of 22.6 points per game was the highest average by a Tar Heel since Charlie Scott (27.1 ppg) in 1969–70. With 10.2 rebounds per game, he became the seventh Tar Heel to lead the ACC in rebounding and just the third Tar Heel in 30 years to average a double-double.[10]

On February 3, 2008, in a game against Florida State, Hansbrough broke Lennie Rosenbluth's 51-year-old school record for made free throws.[13] In the ACC semifinals on March 15, 2008, Hansbrough hit a baseline jump shot with 0.8 seconds remaining to give the Tar Heels a 68–66 victory over Virginia Tech.[14] In the Final Four, Hansbrough was held below his season averages in both points and rebounds against Kansas, largely by freshman Cole Aldrich, as North Carolina lost the national semifinal, 84-66.

Hansbrough is congratulated after setting the school scoring record.

Hansbrough was the Tar Heels' co-MVP with Ty Lawson as a senior in 2008–09. He finished third in the ACC Player of the Year balloting behind Lawson and Florida State's Toney Douglas, after finishing the year second in the ACC in scoring at 20.7 points per game and sixth in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and rebounding. He made a career-best 28 straight free throws early in the season and shot a career-best 84.1 percent from the free throw line, improving his free throw accuracy for a third straight season. He scored 18 points in each of North Carolina's Final Four wins against Villanova and Michigan State, helping the Tar Heels win the 2009 NCAA championship and subsequently being named to the All-Final Four team.[10][15]

Due to right shin and left ankle ailments, Hansbrough missed four games early on in the 2008–09 season, the first he had missed as a Tar Heel. On December 18, 2008, in a home game against Evansville, Hansbrough broke North Carolina's all-time career scoring record, surpassing a 30-year-old mark held by Phil Ford (2,290 points).[16] Ten days later, Hansbrough grabbed his 1,000th career rebound in a game against Rutgers, becoming one of seven UNC players to record 1,000 career rebounds. On February 28, 2009, Hansbrough made his 906th career free throw in UNC's 104–74 win over Georgia Tech, breaking Dickie Hemric's (Wake Forest) NCAA record, set in 1955. His unorthodox post moves drew many whistles from officials. Hansbrough finished his career with 982 made free throws.[17]

Hansbrough walking back to the players' tunnel after his jersey retirement ceremony on February 10, 2010

• Points: 40 vs. Georgia Tech (2/15/06)
• Field Goals: 13 vs. Georgia Tech (2/15/06), vs. Notre Dame (11/26/08)
• Field Goal Attempts: 21 vs. Duke (2/6/08), at Duke (3/8/08)
• Three-Pointers: 2 vs. Duke (3/8/09)
• Free Throws Made: 17 vs. Clemson (2/10/08)
• Free Throw Attempts: 19 vs. Georgia Tech (2/15/06), vs. Clemson (2/10/08)
• Offensive Rebounds: 9 vs. UC Santa Barbara (11/25/05), vs. Duke (3/4/07)
• Rebounds: 21 at Florida State (2/3/08)
• Assists: 4 vs. Tennessee (11/24/06), NC State (2/18/09)
• Turnovers: 8 at Maryland (2/2/06)
• Blocks: 3 at Virginia (1/15/09)
• Steals: 8 vs. UNC Asheville (12/28/05)
• Minutes: 47 vs. Clemson (2/10/08, 2OT)

Hansbrough was the first player in ACC history to earn first-team All-America and first-team All-ACC honors in each of his four seasons.[18][19] He finished his career with a league-record 2,872 points and a school-record 1,219 rebounds to go with the NCAA record of 982 made free throws.[20] While attending North Carolina, Hansbrough was given the nickname "Psycho T" due to his size and aggressive play style, as well as his off-court personality.[21]

In 2008, Hansbrough swept all major individual honors in men's college basketball. For a North Carolina men's player to be eligible to have his jersey retired, he must win at least one of six national player of the year awards: Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Sporting News, Naismith, and Wooden. Since Hansbrough won all six,[22] he had his number 50 retired during halftime against Duke on February 10, 2010.[20]

In 2009, Hansbrough was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 13th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.[23] After missing the preseason and the first four games of the regular season with an injury to his shin, he made his NBA debut against the Washington Wizards on November 6, 2009.[24] Hansbrough was limited to 29 games in his rookie season due to assorted injuries including a season-long bout with vertigo.[25][26]

In the 2010–2011 season, Hansbrough played in 70 games for the Pacers and started 29. He averaged 11 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.[25] On June 30, 2013, the Pacers tendered a qualifying offer to make Hansbrough a restricted free agent.[27] However, two days later, the Pacers rescinded their qualifying offer to Hansbrough, making him an unrestricted free agent.[28]

Hansbrough with the Raptors in April 2015

Hansbrough signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors on July 15, 2013.[29]

On July 22, 2015, Hansbrough signed a one-year deal with the Charlotte Hornets.[30]

On March 1, 2017, Hansbrough was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.[31]

Hansbrough signed with the Guangzhou Long-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association on July 26, 2017.[32]

In October 2018, Hansbrough signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, returning to China for a second stint.[33]

On November 28, 2019, Hansbrough was reported to have signed with the Sichuan Blue Whales.[34] On December 13, 2019, Hansbrough recorded a career-high 49 points and 22 rebounds in a 108–105 victory over the Jiangsu Dragons.[35] The Chinese Basketball Association suspended play on February 1, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic before later resuming in June of the same year.[36]

On October 4, 2020, Hansbrough was reported to have re-signed with the Sichuan Blue Whales for a second season, but did not appear in a game for the team during the 2020–21 Chinese Basketball Association season due to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic and associated travel restrictions.[37]