Thursday night, the Indiana Pacers took Tyler Hansbrough. Though this was right around Tyler’s projected draft position, the various friends I was watching the draft alongside — not to mention the thousands of wise-ass commenters in the Ball Don’t Lie live blog — let loose with the derision. “Oh, come on. Really? Hansbrough? Wow, good luck Pacers.” And so on.

Then, when late-working roommate Paul finally got home from his backbreaking white-collar job, and he was informed of where Hansbrough was drafted, he said: “By the Pacers? Ha. Figures.”

Paul and I went to Indiana University together, and maybe you have to be an outsider living in the state for a while to see this — locals always denied it, of course — but there’s no question that the more traditional types in the state prefer white basketball players, or at least the kind of basketball played by players with traditionally “white” games. They value “shooting” and “defense” and “hard work” and “back cuts” and they hate “thuggery” and “headbands” and “flashiness” and all of the other little code words that people associate with race and basketball. The root cause is the culture and demographics of the state, and part of it can be blamed on Hoosiers. Part of it can be blamed on Bob Knight and Gene Keady. And part of it can be blamed on Larry Bird, whose transcendent white-boy basketball game kept this conversation alive well into the early 90’s. In an NBA obsessed with race, or at least with limiting the liabilities race presents, it still exists.

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It’s hard to say what the Chicago Bulls need in the 2009 NBA Draft. Is it a guard to replace Ben Gordon? A big man to support Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas? An athletic wing player to give them some exterior scoring and defensive size? A trade piece? There are a variety of ways the Bulls could use their No. 16 overall pick; the only real guarantee in this draft is that whomever the Bulls draft won’t be a franchise player.

So it makes sense to try and load up on guys that can not only play now, but that can showcase ability right away and prove attractive in any trade the Bulls try to make during the 2009-10 season. Which is where Tyler Hansbrough — who’s been linked to the Bulls frequently in the past few weeks — comes in. Allow Blogabull to summarize:

At first, it’s cringe-inducing. But when stripping away the hype (which has pretty much died down anyway in regards to his one-time status as the best player in the nation) I see how Hansbrough can be a fit. To me (and, after all: the only one lazier than John Paxson with the draft is me) this draft is about getting someone with a high floor, at the expense of a higher ceiling. Someone who can immediately be in outer rotation (spots 8-12), and can contribute in short stints. Someone who doesn’t need to be coached to play hard, and ideally doesn’t need to be coached at all. Yes, that’s a dig at Vinny.

[...] this draft should be about preparing for the big trade to come. If the picks themselves can’t be part of a mega-package for a frontcourt star, then draft the guys who’ll help replace whoever on the roster needs to go in said mega-deal. [...] Either way, the team will then need guys like Hansbrough, not someone who needs development to someday be better. That is unlikely to be had at #16, and with the Bulls development track record, even less likely. So I’m ready for the Tyler Hansbrough era, even though a couple years ago I would’ve thought it to be a joke.

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It was never, ever, ever even remotely close. North Carolina straight up destroyed Michigan State in every possible way en route to winning their second NCAA Championship since Roy Williams arrived a few years ago.

There were records set — 55 points in a half for the Heels, 21-point halftime lead and eight steals for Ty Lawson — and there were awkward high fives from Tyler Hansbrough who lacked, before this game, only a national championship on his resume.

And he got it. North Carolina played very well and Michigan State played horribly. I’m not entirely sure why we thought anything other than just that would happen. North Carolina didn’t win a single game by less than 12 points the entire tournament. The Tar Heels dominated from start to finish and aside from Ty Lawson’s toe possibly being an issue early in the tournament, there wasn’t ever a question about them winning really.

(Aside: if you’re a Steelers and Tar Heels fan, well, every four three-four years seems to work out pretty well for you doesn’t it?)

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