On a night when surreal events appeared to be the norm, the 2009 NBA draft fit right in.

The fact that Michael Jackson passed away yesterday was beyond surreal. Add in Farrah Faucet and you’ve got a double-whammy.  Then Shaq gets traded to Cleveland to team up with Lebron for what seems to be a destined championship run in 2010.

The 2009 NBA Draft class was not as strong as in previous years, but definitely offered some surprises.

What else happened on draft night?

Here’s a brief recap for your viewing pleasure:

• Richard Jefferson was traded to San Antonio.

• Blake Griffin was the number one pick in the ’09 draft.

• Tyler Hansbrough went to the Indiana Pacers.

• Golden State stole Stephen Curry from the New York Knicks.

• Brandon Jennings’ short stint in Europe paid off — he was able to gain more experience playing professionally overseas than he would have gotten playing in college. As a result, he was drafted 10th overall.

• Ricky Rubio sank in the draft and ended up going to Minnesota (along with Johnny Flynn for double the point guard fun).

Out of anyone in the 2009 NBA Draft, Tyler Hansbrough had the best college career — by far. He became arguably the best player in North Carolina history and topped it off with a championship. In all four years at North Carolina, he averaged at least 18.4 points and at least 7.8 rebounds.

Tyler Hansbrough NBA Scouting Report (Image: Zuma Press)

Despite his college success, Hansbrough won’t be a top pick in the draft. Most scouting experts believe he won’t crack the top ten.

The biggest knock against him is his athleticism. He’s just not a player who will be able to easily convert attempts near the rim. Defensively, he’s going to have to work on his fundamentals if he’s going to thrive in the NBA.

While Hansbrough isn’t going to be a star in the NBA, he could be a Luis Scola type player. Hansbrough has a good basketball IQ, a strong will to win and tons of experience at a high level. A team is going to role the dice on him from the 10 to 15 range and hope that his intangibles overcome his physical limitations.

I know we’re still in NBA playoff mode (speaking of which, how good was the Bulls/Celtics series??? I didn’t want it to end!), but I took it upon myself to look ahead, just a bit, to the upcoming 2009 NBA draft.

Short of creating a mock draft, I listed which players I personally think rank in the top ten as far as prospects go. I think they are the cream of the draft crop. Whether or not NBA scouts agree with me is another question.

Lyndsey’s Top Ten 2009 NBA Draft Prospects

Read more

Many young and talented ballers cannot wait to get to the NBA. They look at  their college career as a stepping stone to something bigger and better, and nothing else. The degree doesn’t much matter, since they will be raking in the dough at the professional level anyway.

Those individuals that decide to stay in college for all four years are few and far between.

Tyler Hansbrough stayed at UNC and amassed numerous national accolades as well a national championship. Add a college degree to the mix and I’d say that he made a smart decision.

Stephen Curry is now wrestling with the same decision. According to SI.com, the main thing holding him back from hiring an agent is the college degree.

Stephen Curry has until Sunday to declare for the 2009 NBA draft.

Knowing that Curry is a well-rounded kid and that the hype and attention he has garnered since Davidson’s 2008 NCAA Tournament run hasn’t gone to his head, I’m not the lease bit surprised that he has yet to make a decision about his basketball future. I could see him returning to Davidson for his senior year. And I would respect him for it.

Photo provided by Newscom

The team that was suppose to win in Detroit Monday night did.

In the postgame press conference Tyler Hansbrough nonchalantly said that he guessed the decision to come back for his senior season was a good one.

Was it not quite refreshing to see the Tar Heel studs put winning a collegiate title over making millions?

It's All Good (Image:Newscom)

I already knew that, but now there’s some concrete evidence to fall back on.

After the game Jay Bilas said Duke is still top 10 quality but not a likely contender for the Final Four.

I concur with Bilas on this one.

By the way, anybody see the elbow lick Singler gave Hansbrough?

But let it be known, Singler does have a gentle side.

And don’t you forget it.

The Tar Heels just humiliated Duke in their house again for the fourth year in a row 101-87.

Ty Lawson led all scorers with 25 points. Tyler Hansbrough had 17 and Danny Green and Wayne Ellington had 15 points each.

Green and Hansbrough did something that’s never been done in the Mike Krzyzewski era - they went four for four at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke was led by Kyle Singler‘s 22 points. Jon Scheyer added 20 and Gerald Henderson tossed in 17 for the Blue Devils.

Honestly, after the Blue Devils (20-4, 7-3) took a 52-44 lead at halftime, I thought the outcome just might be different this time around.

But as I was switching between the game and a good rerun of “Two and a Half Men,” (it was a really funny episode) North Carolina (22-2, 8-2) just took over this game and really put it out of reach with a 14-0 run midway in the second half.

Part two of North Carolina vs. Duke is at North Carolina, and it should be another good one. It’s on March 8 and is the last game of the regular season.

Ok. I’m feeling better except for the gunk that’s still stuck in my throat.

Tyler Hansbrough needed only nine points to become North Carolina’s all-time leading scorer. He scored 20 in a 91-73 win against Evansville last night.

Hansbrough broke a 30-year-old Tar Heel record set by Phil Ford. That’s pretty big for a school that’s produced guys like Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Brad Daugherty and Ford.

But just how big of a deal is it in the ACC?

The all-everything senior forward is only 10th on the all-time ACC scoring list with 2,302 points.

The leader is Duke’s J.J. Redick, who played for the Blue Devils from 2003-06. Redick, who I’ve read is one of the most hated players in college basketball (here we go hating Duke again), scored 2,769 points.

Here’s the all-time ACC list.

1. J.J. Redick, Duke (2003-06) 2,769
2. Dickie Hemric, Wake (1952-55) 2,587
3. Johnny Dawkins, Duke (1983-86) 2,556
4. Rodney Monroe, N.C. State (1988-91) 2,551
5. Bryant Stith, UVa (1989-92) 2,516
6. Christian Laettner, Duke (1989-92) 2,460
7. Mike Gminski, Duke (1977-80) 2,323
8. Jeff Lamp, UVa (1978-81) 2,317
9. David Thompson, N.C. State (1973-75) 2,309
10. Tyler Hansbrough, UNC (2005 - present) 2,302

If Hansbrough averages 20 points a game he would end up in second place with 2,702 points.

He is currently averaging 22.3 points a game after six played. A handful of big 25-30 point games could give him the record.

The Tar Heels play Valparaiso on Saturday. And by the time that game is over, Hansbrough will be at least seventh on the list passing North Carolina State’s David Thompson, Virginia’s Jeff Jamp and Duke’s Mike Gminski.

Showing that College Fast Break isn’t all about Division I with its Duke and UCLA and North Carolina, we cover other divisions too.

Both divisions II and III deserve some love here. We plan to bring you rankings and whatever news is going on whenever I can’t find anything to write about Tyler Hansbrough (or any player named Tyler), North Carolina or UCLA, or when Ryan Pravato can’t find anything on Mississippi Valley State, the Big 10 (plus one) or the Summit League.

So for your infotainment, here’s the latest Division II rankings released today by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

All records are through games of Sunday, Nov. 30. The next poll will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Division III rankings and news to follow.

NABC/Division II Men’s Basketball Poll
(Tuesday, December 2, 2008 — Regular Season Poll #2)
The weekly poll is being conducted by eight members of the NABC Division II Congress, one representing each of the eight NCAA Division II regions.

Team Record This week
1. Findlay 2-0
2. South Carolina Aiken 3-0
3. Central Oklahoma 7-0
4. Augusta State 1-0
5. Southwest Baptist 5-0
6. Gannon 3-0
7. Grand Valley State 3-0
8. Minnesota State 7-1
9. Brigham Young-Hawaii 3-0
10. LIU-C.W. Post 2-0
11. North Alabama 4-1
12. Kentucky Wesleyan 6-0
13. Bentley 6-2
14. Catawba 5-0
15. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 5-0
16. Winona State 4-2
17. Florida Southern 6-3
18. Drury 4-1
19. Central Washington 2-1
20. Northern Kentucky 4-2
21. Northwest Missouri State 3-1
22. Central Missouri 5-0
23. Arkansas-Monticello 5-0
24. Southwest Minnesota State 5-1
25. Saint Martin’s 8-2

Others receiving votes: Northern State (S.D.) 16, Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) 14, Edinboro (Pa.) 12, Elizabeth City State (N.C.) 12, Rollins (Fla.) 12, Southern Indiana 10, Merrimack (Mass.) 7, San Francisco State (Calif.) 7, Augustana (S.D.) 6, St. Edward’s (Texas) 6, Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 5, Cal State-Dominguez Hills 5, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 5, West Chester (Pa.) 5, Benedict (S.C.) 4, Western Washington 4, Fairmont State (W.Va.) 3, West Liberty State (W.Va.) 2, Ashland (Ohio) 1, Francis Marion (S.C.) 1, Missouri Southern 1.

Now he and his teammates are saving lives according to this story earlier today from Yahoo Sports.

“Tyler Hansbrough has always been known for his points and rebounds, but on Thanksgiving Day in Maui, North Carolina’s All-American forward came through with a timely assist.

After winning this week’s Maui Invitational, the top-ranked Tar Heels were set to begin a long trek back to Chapel Hill, N.C., when their travel plans hit a snag. As American Airlines Flight No. 6 backed away from the gate, a passenger in seat 25C was discovered unconscious.

When attempts to wake him failed, a flight attendant yelled for assistance from some “big, strong basketball players.” Within seconds, Hansbrough had sprung from his seat six rows up and rushed to the man’s side.

Hansbrough, teammate Deon Thompson and video coordinator Eric Hoots then lifted 45-year-old Melvin Ridley into the air. Holding him chest-high, they carried him to the galley, where paramedics rendered aid for nearly 30 minutes.

Once Ridley became responsive, he was removed from the plane and transported to a nearby hospital.

“It was a scary situation,” North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams said, “but I was proud to see how our guys responded. I’m sure there are some people who saw that and thought, ‘Those are some really good kids on the North Carolina basketball team.’”

Lester Banks, Ridley’s cousin, said Ridley was diabetic and that he had a history of heart problems. Banks said Friday morning that doctors in Maui ran a battery of tests on Ridley and determined that he had a seizure. He was scheduled to be released later today and has been cleared to take the next flight home, Banks said. Ridley lives in Silsbee, Texas.

“It’s a blessing that all of this happened before the plane left the ground,” Banks said. “If this had happened up in the air … who knows how it would’ve turned out.

“I wasn’t able to tell those players how much I appreciated their help. We’re going to do everything we can to get in touch with them and to let them know how much (their actions) meant to us. They were class acts.””

Let’s see you top that Duke!