news-record.com

Much has been made of Tyler Hansbrough's expanding offensive repertoire.

The North Carolina All-American has become deadly with his mid-range jumper, facing up on defenders more and more often. He also has become more comfortable putting the basketball on the floor and has a nifty spin move he breaks out from time to time.

But the fall-back shot for Hansbrough remains the same. Back down an opponent in the low post, turn toward his left shoulder and put up a .... well, what exactly is it?

"We like to think it's a jump-hook, but it's not," said coach Roy Williams. "Shot put, jump-hook, Hansbrough Special, whatever you want to call it."

Hansbrough Special. Let's go with that.

Williams made those comments after Hansbrough used the shot to polish off a road victory at Virginia back in February. With the shot clock winding down and the Tar Heels clinging to a 73-71 lead, Hansbrough went to his standby. It was, as usual, awkward-looking. As usual, it didn't matter. The Hansbrough Special struck again, and Carolina won, 75-74.

Chances are Mount St. Mary's will study the shot when it tries to figure out ways to slow Hansbrough in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Friday night. The Mountaineers probably will spot the flaw in Hansbrough's technique and think it can be exploited. Good luck.

"Every day in group work, Coach (Joe) Holladay says, 'I'm going to block you if you open up again,' " said Hansbrough, 6-feet-9.

By open up, Holladay means that Hansbrough rotates his upper body a bit too quickly as the shot is taken. So rather than hooking the shot over his closed left shoulder, Hansbrough ends up with much of the front of his body facing the basket when he releases the ball from his right hand, shooting something that defies description (shot put might be the best attempt) but would definitely fall under the heading of unorthodox.

Here's the thing, though. Though it's no surprise that Holladay can't block the Hansbrough Special -- the man graduated from college in 1969, after all -- it's not as if the Tar Heels' opponents are having much success, either. Without the shoulder to protect Hansbrough's shot, you would think more would get blocked. But Williams offered a few explanations for why that's not the case.

To begin with, college basketball has few big men capable of playing straight-up defense on Hansbrough and blocking his shot. Those guys typically spend only a season in college before heading to the NBA.

"And if you're good enough to block that shot," Williams said, "he's probably not going to shoot it."

Williams also noted that, in addition to Hansbrough's expanded mid-range game, the junior big man has gotten more proficient at turning toward his right shoulder and shooting a turnaround jumper. That variety makes the Hansbrough Special less predictable and harder to block.

It has been done before, but the risk is great. You can bring over a help-side defender to go for the block, as Clemson's Trevor Booker did several times in the ACC title game.

"But if (Hansbrough) misses, that also gives us wide-open board coverage," Williams noted.

Not that Hansbrough misses often. Like a lot of Hansbrough's game, it might not be pretty, but it's awfully effective.

"I'm not interested in that picture-perfect look," Williams said. "I like to see it come through the bottom of the net."

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young@news-record.com