I remember watching Tyler Hansbrough in the McDonald’s All-America Game. The TV guys fawned over other players, but I noticed Hansborough because he was relentless and always around the ball. Guys like that always find a way to be successful regardless of height, quickness or other so-called deficiencies.
For four years, as Hansbrough set the Carolina scoring record and won National Player of the Year awards, people, including basketball scouts, doubted his NBA future because he was “unathletic, short, etc.” However, he was the #13 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. How?
He beguiled [Head Coach Roy] Williams with his focus and effort…he also squeezed as much out of his God-given talents as any player in memory…Hansbrough got his weight-room work done early in the morning so he would have enough time to stretch and shoot 100 jump shots before practice that afternoon…
“After his freshman year, I thought gosh, there’s no way he can maintain that,” Williams said. “But he was more driven after his sophomore year. He was even more driven last year [as a junior]. I’ve never been around anybody who 24 hours a day is totally focused on trying to do things he thinks can help him be the best player he can be.”
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