By R.L. Bynum
Tyler Hansbrough is the latest Carolina legend elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Hansbrough was voted into the Class of 2023 a year after Coach Roy Williams and guard Larry Miller were part of the Class of 2022, and will become the 14th Tar Heel to enter the Hall.
The other members of the Class of 2023 to be inducted on Aug. 30 in Chicago are Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Johnny Dawkins, Jefferson coach Herb Magee and the late talent scout Tom Konchalski, who directed the Five-Star Basketball Camp.
The only player in ACC history to be a four-time first-team All-America pick and a four-time All-ACC selection, Hansbrough was the unanimous 2008 National Player of the Year. He is the ACC’s all-time leading scorer, the fourth-leading scorer in NCAA tournament history, the NCAA’s all-time free throws leader and the only ACC player to lead his team in scoring and rebounding in all four seasons.
“I’m honored to be getting inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame,” Hansbrough said. “Choosing to play at North Carolina was one of the smartest decisions I’ve made. I had the greatest teammates at UNC and want to thank them. I also played for the best coaching staff in college basketball, and I thank Coach Williams and his staff.”
A Poplar Bluff, Mo., native and Chapel Hill resident, he led Carolina to a 120–22 record from 2005 to 2009. His teams won three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, three ACC regular-season titles, two ACC tournament championships, two NCAA regional titles and Final Four berths and the 2009 NCAA title.
“I am thrilled for Tyler Hansbrough and his family,” Williams said. “This award is well deserved and comes strictly from effort, hard work and talent. Tyler was one of the most unique players I ever coached, and I never coached anyone that gave more than he did. He tried to be the absolute best he could possibly be in every phase of the game and gave tremendous effort every day. I loved coaching the young man and really look forward to seeing him receive this honor.”
Other Tar Heels already inducted into the Hall besides Williams and Miller are Ben Carnevale, Frank McGuire, Dean Smith, Billy Cunningham, Bob McAdoo, Larry Brown, James Worthy, Phil Ford, Charlie Scott, Sam Perkins and Antawn Jamison.
The eighth and most recent Tar Heel whose jersey number (50) was retired, Hansbrough scored 2,872 points, grabbed 1,219 rebounds, made 180 steals and made 982 of 1,241 free-throws attempts, shooting 53.6% from the floor and 79.1% from the free-throw line. He set ACC records for most games scoring in double figures (133) and most 20-point games (78).
He finished his career as the 12th-leading scorer in NCAA history and remains the fourth-leading NCAA tournament scorer with 325 points, trailing only Christian Laettner, Elvin Hayes and Danny Manning.
Hansbrough broke legendary point guard Phil Ford’s UNC career scoring record vs. Evansville on Dec. 18, 2008, and became the ACC’s all-time leading scorer in the 2009 NCAA first-round win over Radford, breaking Duke guard J.J. Redick’s conference record.
Hansbrough scored 18 points in both the 2009 semifinal win over Villanova and the national-championship victory over Michigan State. He set the UNC freshman scoring record with 40 points vs. Georgia Tech in 2006, scored 26 points in the 2007 Elite Eight vs. Georgetown and 28 in the 2008 regional final vs. Louisville and helped UNC go 4–0 t Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. He averaged 20.1 points and 10.8 rebounds in his career vs. the Blue Devils and 19.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 17 NCAA tournament games.
The Indiana Pacers picked Hansbrough in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft. He played seven seasons in the NBA and a number of seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Photo via @UNCMBBStats
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