Tyler Hansbrough's UNC jersey will be retired Wednesday when the Tar Heels face Duke in Chapel Hill. (Getty Images) |
For Tyler Hansbrough, the long wait is almost over.
Nearly two years after he assured his North Carolina jersey would be retired, Hansbrough will attend the formal ceremony to raise No. 50 to the rafters of the Dean Smith Center on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill.
"I feel honored," Hansbrough said. "It's great for me just to be recognized in that category. And as a huge Carolina fan, it's something I always dreamed about. It's great. I'm excited."
Hansbrough becomes the eighth player in UNC history to have his jersey retired and the first since Antawn Jamison in 1998. Others include Michael Jordan (1984), James Worthy (1983), Phil Ford (1978), Lennie Rosenbluth (1957), George Glamack (1941) and Jack Cobb (1926).
"Yeah, I mean, Jordan and Jamison are two guys I got to watch growing up and I got to play against Jamison (when the Pacers faced the Wizards)," Hansbrough said, "so that's pretty cool."
To retire a jersey at North Carolina, a player must win at least one of six national player of the year awards. Hansbrough swept all six after his junior season (2007-08), so his number technically was retired when his class was graduated.
The timing of the ceremony, possible because the Pacers play their last game before the All-Star break tonight against Chicago, worked out nicely for the Tar Heels. They play Duke Wednesday night.
"It's a big game," said Hansbrough with a smile, "but it just kind of worked out, scheduling-wise, that it was the best time for me to go back and get my jersey retired."
The 13th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft has missed the Pacers' last 11 games, and 18 of 22, with an inner ear infection.
Foster dealing with lengthy absence
With Roy Hibbert developing and Hansbrough joining the team as a prized draft pick, Jeff Foster anticipated his playing time might be dialed back this season. He couldn't have expected it would be basically a total loss.
The announcement Monday Foster will undergo back surgery after the All-Star break means the veteran likely will miss the rest of the season, though he is expected back for training camp next October.
He's been out since Dec. 19 and appeared in just 16 games. If he does not play again this season, he will have missed 66 games. In his previous nine seasons, he missed a total of 76.
"I've never really been away from a team for an extended period of time," Foster said Monday. "It's been a month-and-a-half now, two months and it's been hard. It's something I'm learning to cope with but it's tough seeing these guys struggle and it's just hard not being there for them."
Concussion a scary experience for Price
You know the old saying, "No harm, no foul?"
That got pretty twisted up for A.J. Price in Milwaukee Saturday. The rookie suffered the first concussion of his career when he was smacked in the face on a drive by the Bucks' Andrew Bogut.
There was no foul, but their definitely was harm.
"I got poked in the eye and pretty much after that everything went black and I kind of came-to back in the locker room," Price said. "I was too out of it to continue. The pain was brief but it was harsh. After that it was a slow process of trying to come back, trying to gain consciousness again."
Concussions have been a hot topic in the NFL this season and Price is painfully aware of that ongoing discussion. He's listed as day-to-day for tonight's game.
"When you first hear (you have a concussion), it's obviously scary, different, because you're playing a sport where it's not that prevalent to see concussions but you've got to be cautious," Price said. "Anything involving your head, involving your brain, can be a serious issue so you have to take precautions."
