UNC forward/center Tyler Hansbrough will be the 8th player to have his jersey retired by the university. Psycho T won the Sporting News Player of the Year award, one of the six awards that gets your number retired in the Smith Center rafters.
"It truly is something special to have accomplished," Hansbrough said. "In fact, it's kind of hard to sit here and talk about how it feels to be put in the same category as the players who are up there already."
"There will never be another one just like him," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "I am so lucky to be his coach. For the rest of my career, I will be able to look up into that first row and see his jersey ... and I know that will bring a big smile to my face."
Now you may be thinking, "but they have a bunch of jerseys hanging from the rafters". True, but those numbers aren't retired (both Kenny Smith and Rasheed Wallace's #30 hangs there; current Heel Wayne Ellington wears #22, which hangs in the rafters twice). Those players are acknowledged for being named to the All America team. Since Hansbrough has already been an All American, his jersey was already set to be up there. Now his number will be retired, too.
Only Jack Cobb, George Glamack, Lennie Rosenbluth, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Michael Jordan and Antawn Jamison have had the numbers retired (well, back in Cobb's day, they didn't wear numbers). Now Hansbrough joins them.
The other qualifying awards are: Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Wooden Award and the Naismith.
