Hansbrough is PB’s own legend

In my long journalism career, I have covered several outstanding high school athletes. But there is little doubt one of the greatest high school athletes I’ve ever covered is Tyler Hansbrough.

Now, Hansbrough is slated to be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Sunday, an honor he has earned — and then some.

During his four years on the Poplar Bluff High School boys basketball team, Hansbrough led the Mules to their only two state basketball championships, three final four appearances and four district titles — one of the, if not the, most dominant four-year stretches of any PBHS sports program.

For his efforts, Hansbrough was named all-state three times, Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri and eventually was selected as a McDonald’s All-American. By his junior season at PBHS, big-name college basketball coaches were coming to Poplar Bluff to watch Hansbrough and Mules play — among them North Carolina coach Roy Williams and Florida coach Billy Donovan.

Ultimately, Hansbrough chose to play college basketball for Williams at North Carolina, where his dominance continued.

Hansbrough was named a second-team All-American as a freshman, then followed that up by being selected a first-team All-American his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

As a junior, he was named college basketball’s top player, winning all six national player of the year awards — Associated Press Player of the Year, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year, the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year — and also leading North Carolina to the Final Four.

As a senior, Hansbrough led the Tar Heels to a national championship, the fifth in school history. He also set the North Carolina career scoring record that season, surpassing a mark held by Phil Ford that had stood since the 1970s. The Tar Heels retired Hansbrough‘s jersey in February 2010, less than one year after leading Carolina to the national championship.

Following his college career, Hansbrough was drafted 13th overall by the Indiana Pacers and played seven seasons in the NBA with the Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets, including 44 playoff games over his last six seasons. He also played every game, regular season and postseason, during the 2012-13 season where the Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

In recent years, Hansbrough has played basketball in China and also served as a color commentator on a Tar Heels basketball game in February 2021. He also co-hosts the SleepHawk Worldwide podcast with Brandon Staton, discussing topics ranging from college basketball to the Bachelor.

But at the end of the day, Hansbrough is still Poplar Bluff’s own legend, and it’s nice to see him get the recognition in his home state he deserves.

Congratulations Tyler, you’ve earned it.

Mike Buhler is a staff writer for the Daily American Republic. Contact him at mbuhler@darnews.com.