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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Fayetteville State (exh.)
Tar Heels Down Fayetteville State, 94-58
November 4, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2005
by Aaron Beard, Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL -- Exactly seven months after winning the national championship, North Carolina returned to the court with an entirely new look Friday night.
Appropriately enough, it was a freshman leading the way.
Tyler Hansbrough had 26 points on 11-for-14 shooting to lead the Tar Heels past Fayetteville State 94-58, a solid preseason debut for a player expected to have a large role in helping the Tar Heels rebuild after an offseason overhaul.
The 6-foot-9 Hansbrough, the preseason pick as the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year, also had eight rebounds, three steals and four blocks as the Tar Heels jumped to a 17-2 lead and never looked back.
"I told y'all he was a beast," said senior David Noel, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. "That's why we call him 'Psycho T.' He goes hard, man. He's crazy about everything, definitely when he goes to rebound the ball. He definitely lived up to his nickname tonight."
Freshmen are off limits to reporters until after their first regular-season game, a long-standing program rule dating to the Dean Smith era. But Hansbrough gave fans a tantalizing glimpse of the potential that made him the jewel of a touted recruiting class facing a trial-by-fire season.
Within days of their 75-70 title win over Illinois, the Tar Heels had four players declare early for the NBA draft and lost their top seven scorers _ a remarkable postseason purge that figures to test coach Roy Williams like few seasons have before.
Gone are juniors Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May _ the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four _ along with freshman Marvin Williams. Those four joined seniors Jawad Williams, Jackie Manuel and Melvin Scott in a mass exodus from Chapel Hill.
Those seven anchored a talent-laden team that ran Williams' romping offense to perfection, averaging 88 points per game.
All that's left is a new championship banner hanging in the Smith Center rafters and a group of guys who filled in the gaps between the stars. Yet those players -- Noel, Reyshawn Terry, Wes Miller and Quintin Thomas -- seemed content to let Hansbrough take the lead Friday.
Noel, the leading returning scorer at 3.9 points per game, didn't even take a shot for the first 13 1/2 minutes. Terry finished with 16 points.
Hansbrough started alongside the returnees and got off to a quick start, blocking a pair of layups in the first 30 seconds and scoring nine points on 4-for-4 shooting in the first 4 minutes. He banged around inside for rebounds and stickbacks, and ran the court well for a pair of transition dunks en route to 20 first-half points.
There were other flashes of talent from the newcomers, including Bobby Frasor's one-handed pass over his head to fellow frosh Danny Green for a first-half slam after a midcourt steal. Green finished with 11 points, while Frasor had seven points and four assists.
North Carolina forced 27 turnovers and held the Broncos to 36-percent shooting in what Williams called a "glorified practice."
"I'm not happy with anything, but it was OK," he said. "We've been dealt a hand that's probably more difficult -- or hopefully more difficult -- than I'll ever be dealt again, but it's a good group of kids that I think are working extremely hard."
Antwan House scored 12 to lead Fayetteville State, a member of the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
