Tonight UNC big man Tyler Hansbrough will likely surpass the great former UNC point guard Phil Ford as the basketball team's all-time leading scorer when he notches his ninth point of the game and 2,291st of his storied career.A lot has been written on "Psycho T" and his non-stop motor which seems to be at a different gear than anyone else on the playing floor. In addition to the team scoring record, Tyler is in reach of the team's rebounding record, set at 1,167. Hansbrough currently has 979 and, if he remains healthy, has an outside shot at catching the former Tar Heel All-American Perkins.
J.J. Redick of Dook holds the ACC's all-time scoring mark with 2,769 points. Counting this evening's game with Evansville, UNC plays a guaranteed 22 games (including the first round of the ACC tournament), with the possiblity of 25 or more if the Heels win the confererence tournament and advance deep into the NCAA tournament. If Hansbrough could average 20 points per contest, that would add 500 points to his career total, putting him at 2,791 and eclipsing the former Blue Devil standout.
During Hansbrough's freshman year in Chapel Hill, I was blessed to be personally invited by Coach Roy Williams to attend a closed practice at the Smith Center (no joke, I still have the letter!) I traveled to the Dome and watched the Heels work out for over two hours. When I arrived I was given a practice schedule for the day. The complete order of practice was listed down to the minute, along with a Thought for the Day for the players to consider.
I was not fortunate enough to have a high-quality camera with me, but I did manage to snap a few shots during practice. I dug those pics up from deep in my sports photo archives and posted the photo above as well as a few at the bottom of this post and even a short video clip of a defensive drill ran by the team.
If you follow Tar Heels basketball you owe it to yourself to sit back and enjoy this evening and the history that should be made. A player like Psycho T is a rarity and might not come around again for a while.
