Now that Tyler Hansbrough's North Carolina career is over, with that nagging can-he-win-a-title question answered, the next question is which set of NBA broadcasters will be talking about how hard he works next season and how often they'll have a chance to bring it up.
The site which projects John Wall as the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, NBADraft.net, sees Tyler Hansbrough as the 25th pick in the first round, after teammates Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington as well as Duke's Gerald Henderson and Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu, Jeff Teague and James Johnson. (Of those underclassmen, only Johnson has so far announced his intention to enter the draft. UPDATE: Teague, too.)
Alan Hahn, who covers the Knicks for Newsday and knows as much about basketball as he does about hockey (quite a lot, actually), sees an NBA future for Hansbrough, although maybe not the future Hansbrough envisions for himself.
Hansbrough could be successful in the right situation. On a veteran team, he could carve a niche as a rebounding, energy player willing to use up his six fouls. But what hurts him the most -- which is what used to be the knock on (Knicks forward David) Lee -- is his mid-range jumper. If he had one, Hansbrough might be a lock as a first-round pick. Without one, he's only slightly above a guy like Washington's Jon Brockman, who probably won't get drafted, but, again, in the right situation may be able to carve a niche somewhere.
And if you're interested in what Hahn has to say about Hansbrough, there's a chance you'll probably also be interested in what he has to say about Chris Duhon's stint as the Knicks' point guard, because that could be Lawson's job next year.
