2003 Top 50 List: Not eligible
Dan Collins List: Yes
There is a credible argument that Tyler Hansbrough is the greatest player in ACC history. Let’s see… the only player in ACC history to make first team All-ACC four times; the ACC’s all-time leading scorer; one of only two players (the other is Mike Gminski) in the Top 10 in ACC career scoring and rebounding; three-time Consensus first team All-American; only player in ACC history to make first or second team All-American four times; ACC Player of the Year; ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player; two-time ACC Tournament champion; 2009 national champion; 124-22 record. I guess it’s obvious that I don’t think Hansbrough is actually the best player in ACC history, but I’m saying you can argue that and you would have a case.
I’ve been reflecting on what made Hansbrough so good. He wasn’t an incredible athlete; he didn’t have great post moves. He wasn’t an unskilled player – he did have a good shooting touch for a big man – but he wasn’t Nikola Jokic or Draymond Green out there either. My first observation about the secret to Hansbrough’s success is that he turned drawing fouls into a huge competitive advantage – probably better than anyone else in the history of college basketball.
I knew he got to the line a lot, but when you look at the numbers, it’s really amazing. He is the all-time NCAA leader in free throws made. By a lot. The Top 10:
- Hansbrough, 982
- Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest, 905
- Pete Maravich, LSU, 893
- Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati, 869
- Caleb Green, Oral Roberts, 852
- Don Schlundt, Indiana, 826
- Troy Bell, Boston College, 810
- Bill Bradley, Princeton, 791
- Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, 771
- Derrick Chievous, Missouri, 764
The value to his team from him getting to the line can hardly be overstated. Let’s try to quantify it. In 2008, Hansbrough averaged 9.7 free throw attempts per game. Let’s round it to 10 per game to simplify the calculations. And then let’s assume that they were all two-shot fouls, again to simplify the calculations. That means that five possessions per game for the Tar Heels were ending with Hansbrough going to the line for two shots.
He shot 80.6% from the line. So that means that, on average, he would score 2 * .806 = 1.612 points per possession on a 2-shot foul. How good is that? Well, the best offense in the country is typically around 1.2 points per possession. So for each of those five possessions, the Tar Heels were 0.4 points better than the best offense in the country. That comes out to +2 points per game better than the best offense in the country – just because of Hansbrough’s trips to the line.
In reflecting on Hansbrough’s success more generally, I think he has a lot to teach us about excellence in college basketball, and how it can be achieved. In particular, I assert that Hansbrough achieved greatness by taking his biggest strength and hyper-developing it, beyond any reasonable expectation of success. In other words, he kept doubling down on what he was already good at, rather than focusing on expanding his game.
That’s not to say that he didn’t expand his game at all. He did. But the cornerstone of his success was his ability to use his size and strength around the basket, and what he did was to get more out of that than seemed possible. I’m sure Hansbrough had people along the way tell him, son, you can only take that bull-in-a-china-shop thing so far. You need to expand your game, improve your perimeter shot, work on your handle, become a better passer, etc. But he didn’t take that approach. Instead, he said hey, I’m already really good at what I do, but I’m going to keep getting better at it. I’m good at putting my head down and getting to the line, but what if I get to the line more than anyone else in the history of college basketball? I’m strong, but I’ll get stronger. I’m a good free throw shooter, but I’ll become a great one. I’m a good offensive rebounder, but I’ll become a great one.
This, then, is the basketball genius of Tyler Hansbrough: his committed, confident, focused single-mindedness. He knew exactly who he was as a player. He kept the game simple. He never tried to be what he wasn’t. He didn’t fret about his weaknesses; he consolidated his strengths. Basketball is a sport that rewards that. If you want to be a great basketball player, develop one thing that nobody can stop, and keep developing it. It might take you all the way to the top.