Hansbrough's Legacy Comes in Focus

DETROIT -- He's overrated. He's awkward. He will be a role player, at best, in the NBA. He cost himself lots of money by coming back to college this year. He's credited as working harder than everyone else, and that's entirely unfair to everyone else, maybe even with a racial hint to it.

I'm pretty sure I still feel all of those things about Tyler Hansbrough, who has touched a nerve to half of college basketball's fans, rubbed it raw. Also, national analysts just never stop forcing him down our throats.

But watching him in the national championship game Monday night, watching him go through his usual annoying things, it all started to come together.

Hansbrough is a national champion now, as North Carolina beat Michigan State, 89-72. His legacy is set, and he gets to move up several notches in Carolina lore, onto the same plane with all the greats. Yes, including Michael Jordan.

It all makes sense now. All of those criticisms about Hansbrough might be true, but at the same time, they also fit together into what truly made him the ultimate college basketball player. It took until his final game for some people -- yes, me -- to realize that.

"This is what I wanted to accomplish,'' he said on the court, just after the game ended. "All the hard work, all the tough practices, all the weight room. That's what Carolina's all about. There's nothing better than this.''

It had something to do with the celebration. They blew off indoor fireworks, and confetti rained everywhere. Hansbrough stood there, and he kept jumping and hugging everyone, and his Dad and brother watched from the front row. His Dad, Gene, thought about him as a little kid, and talked about his young boy growing up to reach his dreams.

"It wasn't a money decision to come back,'' Gene said.

And Tyler's brother, Ben?

"Some people are very rough on Tyler,'' he said. "You stand up for your family. Leave it at that.''

Leave what at that? Apparently, Ben, who will play for Notre Dame next year after transferring from Mississippi State, was in a casino in Detroit the other night when people started giving him a hard time about Tyler. Ben responded. The story goes that security came to stop him.

"I told you I come from a tough family,'' Tyler said.

NCAA Tournament Action

GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 21: Wayne Ellington #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Garrett Temple #14 of the Louisiana State University Tigers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 21, 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Wayne Ellington;Garrett Temple

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: A Washington Huskies cheerleader performs during a break in the action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Manny Harris #3 of the Michigan Wolverines jumps to the basket for a lay up against Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Harris

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Zack Novan #0 and Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for the loose ball with Blake Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Gibson;Zack Novak;Blake Griffin

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Willie Warren #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners makes contact as he goes to the basket with Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first hafl during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Willie Warren

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the short jump shot against DeShawn Sims #34 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Taylor Griffin;DeShawn Sims

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a shot over Jon Brockman #40 of the Washington Huskies in the second half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** JaJuan Johnson;Jon Brockman

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners and Zack Novak #0 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for position to the loose ball in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Novak;Taylor Griffin

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Michigan Wolverines yells from the sideline during their game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Capel

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: Lewis Jackson #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a layup as Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies looks on during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lewis Jackson;Quincy Pondexter

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Hansbrough is still overrated. He doesn't have much of a jump shot. He was national player of the year last year, and would have gone in the middle of the first round of the NBA draft. Now, he'll go toward the bottom of that round. And the "work hard" thing? Well, he really does hustle every second and clobber everyone. But it just seems that that label always hits white players.

But try not to judge him as an NBA player. Worry about that later. When you see him in the national championship game, with all the extra emotion that comes in college, you see what a great fit he is. In fact, he's the ideal. Judge him as a college player, which is what he has been the past four years.

Oh, the hell he took on the road from hecklers. Another great thing about college sports: the crazed passion. It focused on Hansbrough for a reason.

"I love to hate him is what I do,'' Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said the other day. "I hate him because he knocks you on your tail. He's tough as nails. He loves contact.

"There's two kinds of players: seekers and avoiders. He's a seeker. I mean, if you're there, he's going to hit you.''

He's what every college coach wants.

When I connect him to Jordan, don't take that wrong. He wasn't even the ACC's player of the year this year. His teammate, Ty Lawson, was. But Hansbrough has been an All-American in some publications four times, yet there was a sense that this game was make-or-break for his career. At North Carolina, it takes national titles.

For someone to be an All-American four times in this era, well, that's almost a negative. Truly great talents don't stay in college that long.

But he's tied together now with all of the Tar Heels greats because he was the leader of this era, and he's a national champ. If he didn't do it as beautifully as it has been done in the past, then that really doesn't matter.

Hansbrough's title and the whole North Carolina lineage came together so early Monday night. With eight minutes left in the first half, when the blowout was on, I got an elevator heading back to the court. A couple kids were there in North Carolina shirts, and their father in a Michigan State shirt.

And who got on the elevator? Jordan. He told one kid, "Nice shirt,'' looked at the father and said, "You've got a problem, man. Take that shirt off.''

"Yeah, Dad,'' the boy said.

Jordan was already giddy. One kid asked for a photo and Jordan grabbed him lightly on both shoulders, looked him in the face and teased, "You're going to be arrested if you do.'' Then he asked the kid how old he was and whether he played basketball.

Ten and no.

"It's all right,'' Jordan said. "I started when I was 12. Left hand. Work on the left hand.''

So it was a Carolina moment. It was a Roy Williams moment, too, as he won his second title as North Carolina's coach. He used to be known as a choker. Now, he's a legend.

But mostly, I think this was Tyler Hansbrough's moment. He didn't win the game by himself, but scored 18 points, had seven rebounds and did everything he could possibly do every second of the game. It's what you want from your college basketball stars.

Psycho-T, they call him for his effort.

I used to roll my eyes at that.

Championship Routs

By the time they were midway through the first half, the Tar Heels were playing only against history. Their 17-point blowout of Michigan State is tied for the ninth largest margin of victory in championship game history. Click through the gallery to read about the other nine one-sided romps.

Paul Sancya, AP

1992: Duke 71, Michigan 51 The Fab Five's first trip to the Final Four was a bit of a Cinderella story, but it ended in a rout as the Blue Devils become the first team to win back-to-back titles since John Wooden's UCLA dynasty

Jim Mone, AP

1990: UNLV 103, Duke 73 But the Blue Devils knew intimately what it was like to wind up on the wrong side of a laugher. Two years earlier, a UNLV team led by Anderson Hunt, Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon routed Duke by 30, far and away the biggest romp in finals history.

Eric Risberg, AP

1976: Indiana 86, Michigan 68: The last undefeated national champion in college basketball history did it with an exclamation point at the end. Even more impressive, the Hoosiers actually trailed by six at the half. This would be the second title game rout for Indiana, which drubbed Kansas 60-42 in 1940.

1973: UCLA 87, Memphis 66 How could it not have been a runaway victory when UCLA star Bill Walton was this good? The center score a still championship game record 44 points as the Bruins won the last of seven straight titles and the ninth of John Wooden's career, humbling relative upstart Memphis State.

1969: UCLA 92, Purdue 72 Not only could no one stop the UCLA dynasty with Lew Alcindor in the center, no one could even come close. The Bruins won three title games with Alcindor, later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, by an average of 19 points. Alcindor score 37 in his farewell in 1969.

1968: UCL8 78, North Carolina 55 This time, the Tar Heels finished on the wrong side of a historic drubbing. Dominated by Alcindor, who scored 34 points in his junior season, Dean Smith's second Final Four team trailed by 10 points at the half and gave up 46 in the second stanza.

1960: Ohio State 75, Cal 55: The Jerry Lucas-led Buckeyes jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead in this halftime drubbing. The best seat in the house belonged to a future coach. Reserve Bob Knight missed his only field goal attempt for the Buckeyes and picked up a single foul.

1952: Kansas 80, St. John's 63: Led by Clyde Lovellette, one of the great big men in NCAA history, the Kansas Jayhawks won their first national time in dominant fashion. The 6-foot-10 tower Lovellette scored a then-record 141 points in the tournament. But despite the rout, Jayhawk reserve Dean Smith didn't register a single field goal attempt.