When Tyler Hansbrough speaks, we all should listen very carefully.
An absolute legend of the UNC basketball program and someone who is still very much tied to it through his current roles with the university, Hansbrough is the perfect person to discuss the team's recent struggles, especially on the defensive end.
On the Field of 68 After Dark show, Hansbrough, a guy whose jersey number hangs in the Dean Smith Center rafters as one of the very few retired numbers in UNC basketball lore, admitted that he's concerned about this team given its recent struggles.
"I would be pretty concerned because we're starting to see a trend, and for me right now, it just seems like every, every team that has like an efficient wing score is starting to have their night against us," Hansbrough said. "I've given a lot of credit. I think we fixed a lot of flaws from last year, but we've gotta figure out how we can guard these pick-and-rolls just a little bit better."
He went on to elaborate on what he thinks is the main issue with this team, citing how the team allows opponents to stay in games regardless of how big of a lead they can generate.
"My main issue with Carolina is that right now we go through lapses in games where we get stale," the former National Player of the Year added. "I want to see us get to the point where we start winning games and we start stepping on teams' throats once we get a little bit of a lead and start ending games instead of letting teams just hang around and build a little lead, then come back, get hot, and now we're in a dog fight to win the game."
We can all agree with Hansbrough that Caleb Wilson will dictate how far this team goes this season, as he went onton too talk about how talented he is (even considering him "much better" in person). He also believes this team has to play at a higher pace, one dictated by the effort on the defensive end.
You can't start the fast break when teams are scoring at will, which has been a significant issue for the UNC basketball program, especially in conference play.
Hopefully, Hansbrough is providing advice to those within the building on how to adjust, because quite frankly, it has felt like the coaching staff has been stagnant, allowing for these horrible trends to carry on.
Hansbrough said it perfectly: a trend is building, one that won't bode well for the Tar Heels if they can't sort things out quickly.