Media Racist With Hansbrough Lovefest?

Somewhere Scoop Jackson is pissed that he choose the Bird-Thomas race card column for this week and put off the Hansbrough-Beasley one until next week.

Let's dismiss the NBA talk and next Eric Montross stuff because it's completely irrelevant in this discussion. You can easily make a case for either player: Beasley has a 3 point edge in ppg and two boards a game. Hansbrough has better FG and FT percentages. Beasley has a weaker cast, Hansbrough is the best player on the best team.

Bottom line, there is an argument for either one, therefore it's not like Hansbrough is being touted just because he's white. He does have legit credentials. If you think Beasley deserves the award, no one can say you're wrong.

 

Great post. I agree 100%. The fact that Beasley is so readily dismissed is what frustrates me far more than anything to do with Hansbrough himself.

 

Agreed.
Love led his team to a championship in a tougher conference (I know it's sacrilege to say ANY conference is better than the ACC, but the Pac-10 is far deeper). He has an inside game and can even knock down 3-pointers when asked/needed. Also, he's the best outlet passer I've ever seen (I know Bill Walton and several other legends may have been better, but I'm not old enough to have seen them play in their prime).

No disrespect to Hansbrough, but I think he garners a lot of attention because of WHERE he plays and HOW HARD he goes. But if Beasley or Love played at UNC and Hansbrough played at K-State or UCLA, he'd likely be lucky to crack the top five for Player of the Year honors.

 

See that backhanded compliment of Hansbrough is off-base. He's not just "gritty" and a "gamer." He also averages 23 and 10 for the No. 1 team in the country.

Would Beasley and Love do the same? Most likely.

 

Maybe I should have phrased it like this: Beasley's done nothing to dispel the notions (of others) that he'll likely go pro, aside from proclaiming that he "might not be ready for the NBA" or similar canned answers.
I don't doubt that he's damn good. One of the best in the nation.
These POY awards are sort of worthless, in the grand scheme.
I think Carolina without Hansbrough isn't so good and certainly not No. 1.
To me, Kansas State's star frosh will be just another fat-headed pro once he gets there.
Show him the money. Durant's attitude was about the same, from my estimations last season.
I'd vote for Hansbrough in this election. Just my opinion.

 

Let me first preface my comments by saying I don't give a damn about POY awards, so I'm not gonna get into any argument about who's most deserving. HOWEVER...

I can't believe someone compared Hansbrough to Eric Montross. Even if the former turns out to be the same kind of bust in the pros as the latter, their games have virtually no similarities. And Hansbrough is the much better college player.

I also can't believe someone is disputing the love Emeka Okafor got from the media, including his "image." As with Shane Battier before him, we were constantly barraged with stories of his off the court exploits. How many freakin' times was his GPA mentioned? In fact, the more potent argument of "racism" in the media might be that every time there's a book smart black player like Battier and Okafor we are constantly reminded of it like it's some big surprise.

 

But they're so articulate.

 

It's probably worth mentioning that like Freeman, Beasley and Hansbrough will both probably leave state schools without their degrees.

 

"He speaks so well. He’s so well spoken. He speaks so well. I mean, he really speaks well. He speaks so well." Like that’s a compliment. "Speaks so well" is not a compliment. "Speaks so well" is some shit you say about retarded people that can talk. What do you mean "he speaks well?" He’s an educated man, how the fuck do you expect him to sound? [/chrisrock]

 

The part of the SI article that I'm surprised opponents haven't picked up on (have they?) is that Psycho T now gets pedicures regularly. What a Psycho!

 

Did anyone notice that Beasley didn't make the Big 12 All-tourney team?

He hasn't had near the impact that Montross, er, Hansbrough has had at NC.

Beasley ought to do well in the pros, now, I firmly believe that.
Look at what Monta Ellis and Travis Outlaw have done, and they didn't even hone their skills in college.

Hansbrough's for some time had this thing locked up.
Sort of like when Steve McNair didn't win the Heisman.
Too many voters out there will cast their lot with Hansbrough, regardless of all the stats breakdowns that might support Michael's case.

 

Gene Wojciechowski chimes in:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=3297944&sportCat=ncb