Tyler Hansbrough was one of the most dominant players that college basketball has ever seen, but his production at North Carolina didn't translate over his seven-year NBA career.
For years, Tar Heels have wondered why that might've been the case, given how elite Hansbrough was over his four seasons wearing the Carolina Blue uniform. However, little did we know, Draymond Green, the former Michigan State Spartan and current member of the Golden State Warriors, would provide some logical feedback.
Who would've guessed!
Green provides his honest take on Hansbrough
On his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, Green got into some UNC talk, even diving into who he thought should be the next head coach of the Tar Heels. When the topic of Tyler Hansbrough came up, Green summed up pretty well why he was so dominant at the college level compared to the professional level.
Here's the full quote of what Green had to say:
“He was really good on those UNC teams. I had the opportunity to play against him, he was unstoppable. They went to him every time; he was extremely strong. Tyler Hansbrough, he was relentless and in college, that relentless type of attitude works. In the NBA, you kind of got to have a little more skill and I just don’t think Tyler Hansbrough had the skill.
He also didn’t have the athleticism that the bigs had that he was going up against. And so in turn, I just don’t think it translated as well. Don’t get me wrong, Tyler Hansbrough still had a respectable NBA career, It just didn’t turn out to be who he was at North Carolina.
No one in the NBA was just going to throw Tyler Hansbrough the ball and say, ‘Go get us a bucket.’ It wasn’t fluid enough, it was too rugged. It was, ‘Ah, I’m going to go through you.’ Just ultimately, he didn’t live up to what he was in college and maybe people were expecting from him. But in this NBA, you have to play a role. Unless you’re Steph Curry or LeBron James, you must play a role and that’s kind of what happened.”
While we hate to admit it...
Green assessed this topic pretty spot-on.
No, this shouldn't be taken as Green throwing shade or disrespecting Hansbrough in any which way. He clearly notes how dominant he was at North Carolina and what made him so effective in college, but also cited the reasons why the production didn't ultimately translate.
Nothing Green said here was particularly wrong, and as a guy who has embraced being a "role player" for his entire career, he definitely knows what it takes to not only produce at the NBA level, but what it takes to stay there for a long time as well.
Speaking of their college matchups
Green spoke about how he played against Hansbrough in college, but didn't mention how Michigan State lost both of those games!
In the 2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Green played just six minutes before fouling out in what ended up being a 35-point loss to the Tar Heels. The second meeting with Hansbrough and the Tar Heels didn't go well either, as Hansbrough's 18 points and seven rebounds helped North Carolina claim the 2009 National Championship title over Michigan State.
While Green went on to have the longer NBA career, Hansbrough has the upper-hand in terms of college resumes and head-to-head meetings!