Hansborough is an elite college player; Madsen was a run-of-the-mill college player... so I'm struggling with the equation of the two. Paul Milsap of the Jazz is undersized and makes a mark on sheer effort. I don't see why Hansborough couldn't approach that.
No way will Hansborough even come close to having Milsap-like career (a young career at that). Milsap is a beast of an athlete, have you seen him play? I like Hansborough as a college player despite my UK roots, but I predict he will have a poor NBA career.
While his NBA ceiling is definitely low it's still entirely possible for him to amount to a solid defensive-minded role player. His best attributes are undeniably: his relentless motor, his willingness to play physical, his rebounding ability and his mid-range jumper. Best case scenario that I can see is a more defensive minded version of Darius Songaila. That or maybe the unathletic version of Udonis Haslem or David Lee.
Songaila came to my mind, too. It's not exactly special, but he's had a 6 year career playing 15-20 minutes a game is pretty decent. Hard to call any pick 20 or later who's still doing that a bust. I don't see Hansborough all that different than a guy like our own Luis Scola. He's not going to ever put up 20-10 in the NBA, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him as the #5 scorer on a team, averaging 10-12 points and 7 rebounds or so.
Except Scola has some serious skills on the court...he IS one of Argentina's top players after all. Didn't he average 20+ pts in the Olympic tournament? Its hard for me imagining someone with the nickname "Psycho T" ever amassing the polished skills or high bball IQ of Luis Scola. My prediction for him is a complete and utter bust lol. He just doesn't have the athletic ability needed for someone his size IMHO
I know we feel compelled to continuously project college players at the next level, but literally think about this kid's life for a minute: He was able to not only play college ball, but play it at North-freaking-Carolina. He was a starter, all-ACC, and national player of the year. No matter what he does or doesn't do in the NBA, nobody can ever take those things from him. I'd day that's a helluva good deal -- regardless of how his talent translates at the pro level.
I would so take him at #20. No drugs, all effort. He's a proven winner. You can always bank on a fierce competitor with great work ethics and a giant heart. These kids never turn into "busts". There's always a future waiting for them.
Well, i've defended Hansbrough in this thread but everything you just said -- I thought the same about Fazekas. Look how that turned out.
