But Hansbrough has also shown an expansive shooting range. His jumper has proved reliable while creeping out past 15 feet, whether it was his last-second shot to beat Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals or the two clutch shots he hit over Louisville center David Padgett to help the Tar Heels hold their tenuous second-half lead in the East Regional championship.

That performance — a 28 points, 13 rebounds — left coach Rick Pitino offering plenty of praise. Yet his teammates have grown accustomed to the exceptional — Hansbrough averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds during the nearly seven full games that point guard Ty Lawson was out with an ankle sprain in February.

“After you play with him for a while, you see some of the things that he can do,” sophomore Wayne Ellington said. “He makes tough shots with a lot of defenders around him. I know he’s capable of that. It doesn’t really surprise me anymore when I see him make a tough shot.”

His father, Gene, could probably say the same thing. He first saw his son’s hypercompetitive drive when the 5-year-old Tyler practically ran over every defender to score goals in soccer games. Soon, Gene had to pad the area around the basketball goal in the basement of their Poplar Bluff, Mo., home because Tyler’s games against older brother Greg became so fierce.

Things changed when Greg was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was about 7. The surgery to remove the tumor left him partially paralyzed and forced him to learn to walk again. Greg eventually recovered enough to play basketball again and run marathons, an effort that left an impression on Tyler.

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“He lived with it every day,” Gene Hansbrough said. “He saw him struggle to be normal. I think watching Gregory struggle to do everything that normal kids do really helped Tyler appreciate what he was blessed with.”

It certainly explains Hansbrough’s insatiable work ethic. This, after all, is the same player who celebrated a 40-point day as a freshman by going to the gym to work on free throws during an off day because he missed a few from the line the night before. His approach is simple: “I feel like you’re either getting better or you’re not.”

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His biggest risk heading into this weekend might be putting too much pressure on himself. Then again, it’s what got him here.

“What I said to myself is you’ve got to do the things you’ve done before,” Hansbrough said. “I can’t just sit here and wait for the games. I’m going to go out there and do the routine that I’ve done. I’m going to do the same things I’ve always been doing.”