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(Message board posters call me a racist for the 887th time in 3, 2, 1 ...)
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The media loves Tough Whiteness, too. Never mind that college basketball is full of blue collar, intense African-American players with more desire than ability. And forget the fact that Hansbrough is an excellent, highly skilled athlete, more Larry Johnson than Rudy Ruettiger.
None of that matters. The media sees the tough white guy with the bloodied nose, scrunched up face and Hannibal Lecter mannerisms and falls in lust.
Bill Raftery is an admirable professional who is one of my favorites to watch. He's extremely talented, but during a timeout in one North Carolina game, he said "watching Tyler Hansbrough listen is special."
What? No, seriously, what?
I thought the media had gotten beyond the "black-guy-talented, white-guy-tough" silliness, but the coverage around Hansbrough demonstrates maybe we haven't.
This is nothing against Hansbrough. He's one of my favorites. He'll probably end up as a slightly better than average NBA player -- there are a thousand Hansbroughs in professional basketball -- but that doesn't take away from the good things he's doing now.
This is the media's fault, not Hansbrough's.
So we'll continue to portray Hansbrough as the savior of life, liberty and pursuit of everything college basketball. An All-American bad ass.
Tyler Hansbrough inspires so much fear, Bill Belichick is afraid to videotape Hansbrough's walkthroughs. ...
When it rains Tyler Hansbrough doesn't get wet ... the rain scampers away in fear. ...
