Hansbrough Injury

I apologize for the break in posting, as there have been internet problems at the BP Mansion. I'm hoping to have everything in order by the time the season starts up, but you never know when it comes to the cable company. Anyway, the big story of the week (even if I'm a couple of days late on commenting) is obviously the Tyler Hansbrough injury.

ESPN had to thaw out Jay Bilas, and needed to drag Dick Vitale back from Tampa in order to get every angle of analysis on this. Bilas actually suggested that this will make Carolina better by giving their freshmen a chance to learn how to play in the system without Hansbrough to lean on. Andy Katz reminded Carolina fans that though down they are not yet out.

The reality is that people need to relax. This is not and should not be a big story, and I doubt it will be a big story once the season gets going. I would dispute that the freshmen will gain all too much perspective from playing with Hansbrough and Marcus Ginyard. Roy Williams will adapt his team's playing style without those guys, and he'll adapt it back when they return. My guess is that they'll do a lot more pressure defense on the perimeter, and they'll revolve a lot of their offense around drives and kick-outs. That will change when they get Hansbrough back.

The other thing people need to remember is that it is November 1st. Nobody wins anything over the next few weeks. Even if this injury turns out to be far worse than expected, and the Heels are without Hansbrough for two months, is that really going to have a large effect on their chances at winning the National Title? They might lose an extra game or two in their out-of-conference slate, but I'd still project them as a #1 seed. Let's remember that this is the first team in the history of the AP poll to be a unanimous preseason #1. This is a program that has McDonald's All-Americans handing out towels on the bench, and one of the finest coaches in the nation. They'll be fine.

The only thing they have to be careful of is rushing Hansbrough back. If they're not sure about whether his injury is completely healed, they should take the safe road and give it another week. They can't win a National Title in November and December. But they might lose one, if they set Hansbrough up for a nagging injury all season that will plague him during the Tournament. Assuring that this injury is completely dealt with before he returns must be the only strategy right now.