Published: July 04, 2009 09:48 pm      

VELAZCO: Local players gauge Pacers’ selection

At some point late in the college basketball season, I was editing a story about Tyler Hansbrough and read some annoyed comments from him about the nay-sayers who dog him.

I read it to Bryan Gaskins here in the sports office with bemusment. What on earth is he talking about?

All I knew about the guy — after watching him extensively for four years — was that he was an outstanding player who was a no-brainer for a high spot on my Wooden Award ballot. Oh, and I knew he was phy-si-cal in the post.

Now I know what Hansbrough was talking about.

His name landed like a thud for a lot of Pacers fans when he was picked No. 13 by Indiana in the NBA draft on June 25. Can you remember the last time the Pacers picked a name-brand player like that who inspired so little confidence in the fan base?

With that notion in mind, I put out calls to a handful of local boys basketball players to get their impressions on picking Hansbrough, the ACC’s all-time leading scorer, and their thoughts on the Pacers’ current direction.

Two things stand out: There’s no consensus on the Hansbrough pick; but there’s definitely a consensus on Danny Granger — he’s the franchise.

Here’s the dissenting opinion:

“I really don’t like [the pick] either,” Taylor point guard Reomey Northington said. “I think they needed more of an excitement player, somebody that will fill the seats. Hansbrough’s game is more fundamentals and not action, just a fundamental game, not a high flyer or a shooter. What the Pacers need is somebody that can fill the seats right now.”

Kokomo’s Brock Barbary framed the debate, bringing up his good points, and the suspect spots:

“He goes hard. He’s a heck of a player,” the Wildkat defensive stopper said. “He was dominant in college, but I don’t know if he has the NBA mentality. The NBA and college are two different things. I thought they were going to go for more of an up-tempo players instead of a sit-by-the-basket-and-get-rebounds player.

“It just depends on how team chemistry is for the Pacers next year. If it’s good, he’ll have a lot of confidence. He’s going to go hard regardless. Hopefully him going hard will make up for what he lacks. He’s athletic, but he lacks a little bit of athleticism compared to the other people in the NBA.”

Western’s Brandon Larrick is a Carolina fan outright, and was pleasantly surprised by the selection since he hadn’t heard much discussion of Hansbrough going that high prior to the draft. As a Carolina fan, he’s heard the worries.

“A lot of my friends say he’s not going to be as good as he was in college ball because he’s going to get pushed around, because he’s such a small center compared to the NBA centers.”

While in Carolina blue, Hansbrough made a living deep, deep in the post. Larrick envisions him moving further out in the pros.

“He’ll probably be a little different,” he said. “He probably won’t be as assertive in the post as he was at Carolina. He’ll probably shoot more outside the lane.”

Teammate Jamal Johnson thinks Hansbrough can make the transition. The Western energy man was sold on the pick quickly.

“I’m pretty confident in it,” Johnson said. “I think he’s going to make a pretty good impact.

“A lot of people are skeptical about it. They’re not sure if he can compete with the guys in the NBA. I think he will. He has a very good work ethic.”

Kokomo guard D.J. Balentine thinks that transition may take a while. He was hoping the Pacers would look to a certain Wake Forest star and Indianapolis Pike product.

“He’s a tough player, but my pick would have probably been Jeff Teague since he’s a more explosive player than Hansbrough is.

“[Hansbrough] is going to be one of the players that will take time,” Balentine said. “He reminds me of a Jeff Foster, but he’s a hard worker though.”

Like Hansbrough, it’s hard to get a firm handle on the Pacers. Indiana has sputtered to straight 36-46 seasons as Indiana fights injuries and a revolving door of players.

“They do have Danny Granger, superstar,” Barbary said. “I think the reason they picked [Hansbrough] up is they know he’s gonna go hard. He’s not going to punk out about anything. Them bringing in somebody like that could re-start their franchise. It’s a good pick in a way.

“I see them progressing, maybe not a whole lot, but they’re going to keep getting better over the year.”

Johnson also envisions baby steps for Indiana.

“I think they’re aiming at getting better,” he said. “I don’t think they’re there yet, but I think in the next year or two they’ll be where they’re looking to get.”

Balentine is more optimistic.

“They’re getting much better,” he said of the Pacers. “We have Danny Granger who is an NBA All-Star. We’re almost in the playoffs this year, which we haven’t been there in a long time. I think we’re getting much better.”

If so, the Pacers need it. Just a quick random survey of players who live about an hour from Indy revealed that Pacer fandom isn’t ripe. Northington stressed that the Pacers need to give fans a reason to care about them.

“You’ve got to try to root for the Pacers, because it’s our hometown team, but then again, they’re so bad you really can’t,” Northington said.

“I hope they go forward. It really all just depends on Danny Granger. He just carries the team on his back, so if he plays well, they’ll play at least decent.”

• Love the pick? Hate the pick? E-mail your opinion to Pedro Velazco at pedro.velazco@kokomotribune.com