Though he was never the star and hyped player his brother was coming out of high school and throughout college, Ben Hansbrough is emerging in his senior year of college. The Notre Dame guard scored a team-high 19 points for the Irish Monday night at the Petersen Events Center in a 56-51 road win over Pitt. He’s played well the entire season and has been consistently good throughout Big East play. For the year, Hansbrough is averaging 16.5ppg on 45.9% shooting and four assists per game. The senior leads his team in points, assists, steals, and three-point shooting, and is one of the biggest reasons why Notre Dame is 17-4.
Ben followed a much different path to stardom than his brother Tyler. Tyler is a much more physically intimidating presence, going 6’9″ and 250lbs. He led his team to three straight state championships before moving on to North Carolina, passing up nearly every other prestigious college. Tyler became the ACC Freshman of the Year, a four-year all-conference player, and three-time All American. He is the career leader in several statistical categories for the Tar Heels, one of the richest programs in college basketball history.
Compared to Tyler who was wanted by every school, younger brother Ben went to Mississippi State straight out of high school. After two seasons spent on 20+ win teams, Ben left Starkville and enrolled in Notre Dame. He was forced to sit out the ’08-’09 season due to transfer rules but made his debut with the Irish last season. Each year of college he has increased his productivity as a player.
Ben Hansbrough won’t end his career with school, conference, or national records, but his importance to his team is starting to rival his brother’s. Best part of all? His play has been so good he’s created his own identity as a star college basketball player.
