North Carolina basketball: 5 Tar Heels who didn’t live up to the NBA hype

UNC Basketball NBA Busts: Tyler Hansbrough

If we’re talking solely about their careers in Chapel Hill, Tyler Hansbrough is probably the greatest North Carolina basketball player in the history of the program. Between his individual accomplishments and the team success he helped achieve with the Tar Heels, Psycho T entrenched himself in the program’s lore and earned a spot for his jersey in the rafters.

Hansbrough did nothing but excel throughout the entirety of his career. The big forward was a three-time First-Team All-American and earned Second-Team All-American honors as a freshman as well. Moreover, he was a four-time All-ACC selection and won National Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year in 2008.

To make sure to cap his career off in the proper fashion, Hansbrough’s final game saw him and the Tar Heels cutting down the nets following a National Championship victory. He finished his time with North Carolina as the ACC’s all-time leader in points and rebounds as well as the NCAA record-holder for most free throws made in a career. That led to him being the 13th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.

Once in the NBA though, Hansbrough never found the same success. He played only seven NBA seasons with three teams and, in 428 career games, averaged only 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting an abysmal 43.9 percent from the field. Hansbrough has played in China for the past three years after spending part of 2017 in the G-League.

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