Tyler Hansbrough has made 24 of his last 76 shots from the field. The Pacers have lost seven of their eight games during this stretch and Hansbrough’s field goal percentage has dropped down to 36.5%, the lowest rate amongst all qualified players. He has accomplished this feat without having hit a three point shot all season.
In a fifteen point loss to the Hawks on December 28th, Hansbrough scored 19 points on 7-20 shooting. Of his thirteen missed shots, six were blocked by Hawks players, mostly Josh Smith.
Throughout his career at Carolina, I always thought of Psycho T as some sort of Singularity cyborg. As such, the shortcomings of his game in college were not evidence of a stunted imagination, but rather the limits of computer programming. Why couldn’t he pass out of a triple team? Why couldn’t he learn a hook shot? Why did he never spin towards the basket? Why only bull-rush the defender and throw the ball awkwardly off his back foot? Over the four years at Carolina, his game stayed remarkably constant–smashy smashy to awkward shot to foul line. The fact that he converted this sameness into one of the greatest careers in college basketball history seemed to be a testament not to will and determination, but to the strength of steel and the relentlessness of an unfeeling machine built only to put the ball in the basket.
The rest, of course, is in the eyes. Outside of two notable occassions (see below), Hansbrough’s expression never changed–always the vacant eyes, always the open mouth. The robot face was so persistent, so striking that it was hard to imagine Hansbrough in any situation outside of the basketball court. What did he look like at parties? At team dinners? While driving? Did he recognize music? What, as Herzog might say, was the content of his dreams?
When the Pacers drafted him last year to complete the Troy Murphy/Dunleavy/Hansbrough White-Fecta, those of us who watched his college career wondered if a reprograming was possible. It was painfully obvious that Cyborg T’s game wasn’t going to translate over to the pros. Unlike similarly sized bangers like Craig Smith and Dejuan Blair, Hansbrough relied on a high volume of touches and shots. He wasn’t a good enough rebounder to camp under the basket and live off of put-backs. If he was going to be an effective pro, he was going to have to build on his mid-range game and beat bigger defenders on the boards by pummelling them into submission.
Here’s a clip of Hansbrough at the combine. He, remarkably, seems self-aware.
That mid-range game has proven to be a lot less than capable, driving Hansbrough back to the moves that were hard-wired during his career at Carolina. Sadly, the cyborg two-step move is nothing more than amusing foreplay for Josh Smith or Dwight Howard or any of the other freakishly athletic bigs in the league who have repeatedly swatted Hansbrough’s shots into the stands. Watching his nightly toilings, we Carolina fans can only be thankful that cyborgs cannot feel shame.
A friend of mine from Chapel Hill who watched every minute of Hansbrough’s college career had this to say:
“If you’re Indiana and you thought you were getting a guy that would be conservative with his shot selection, would pass out of double-teams (or the occasional triple-team) and would play some defense, you clearly didn’t watch enough UNC basketball from 2006 – 2009.”
Can he be salvaged? Thankfully, the Pacers seem to not be bothered by a 36% shooter at the 4 because Hansbrough keeps getting minutes. But given the recent losing streak and the return of Danny Granger, it’s hard to imagine that the coaching staff in Indiana will put up with more of the weirdest gunner in the NBA. Which is too bad. I admit that I was one of the people who saw Hansbrough hit a few jumpers during his senior year and assumed that he was showcasing the seedlings of a new, NBA-ready game. Having six shots swatted in one game seems to indicate otherwise. Unless he can be reprogrammed to actually make his 15 foot jump shot, or, God forbid, pass the ball, Cyborg T will be tanking the draft stock of white college forwards for years to come. Nick Collison, count your money and praise Jesus. Luke Harancody, good luck to you.
