SFN: Hansbrough vs Henderson

This topic was stealing center stage…so, we wanted to extricate it from the State-Duke entry that should be focused on…well…State and Duke!

With 14 seconds to go in today’s Duke/Carolina game – and with the game firmly in the hands of the Tarheels who had a 12 point lead – Duke’s Gerald Henderson connected with a forearm across the bridge of Tyler Hansbrough’s nose on a put-back attempt after a rebound of missed Carolina free throw.

The N&O continues:

The contact was after the ball left Hansbrough’s hands and Henderson was ejected. Hansbrough exited the court with blood pouring from his face and fuming at the intensity and timing of the foul.

The game referees released a statement after the game explaining the call.

“By rule, this is a flagrant foul for combative and confrontational action. It is ruled a fight. By rule, it is an automatic ejection. By NCAA rule, he must sit out the next game.”

Hansbrough rebounded a Bobby Frasor missed free throw with 14 seconds left and instead of kicking the ball out to let the clock expire he was playing tough and trying to physically position himself for more points – preferably on a dunk in the face of the Blue Devils. What was Duke supposed to do? Just allow Tyler Hansbrough to go up for a posterizing dunk on a play that never needed to happen in the first place (why was Hansbrough on the court up 12 with 14 seconds to go)?

Absolutely not. Duke should be allowed to play just as hard as Hansbrough.

People who have never played basketball/sports don’t understand how quick things happen in real time. From the comfort of your couch and the endless slow motion replays, you can’t help but get the impression that these athletes can control things that are happening at phenomenally quick speeds. This is not reality.

I just watched some Charlotte news footage that was taken from behind the basket in real time. Folks, this happened SO FAST that NOBODY could have stopped their swipe at full speed in mid-air. It just doesn’t work that way. This ain’t The Matrix. People can’t contort their movements like that by stopping time no matter how spoiled your high definition viewing in slow motion makes you.

If you watch the replay, Henderson’s swat would have been very close to where Hansbrough would have had the ball if the ball hadn’t been blocked/swiped by another Duke player before it got to Henderson. But, the block of the ball from behind changed the whole play and the positioning of Hansbrough.

By then it was far was too late for Henderson. He was committed to his anticipation and was swinging hard and trying to make a block on a big guy trying to dunk. When the ball was deflected and was no longer at the projected spot, Henderson’s follow through came right into Hansbrough’s face. Had the ball not been knocked out of Hansbrough’s hands .19 of a second before Henderson tried to dunk then all would have been fine. The worst thing that Gerald Henderson did was forget his black trench coat and Keanu Reaves super powers.

It was unfortunate. But, it was also uncontrollable at that speed and in that situation.

No. Wait. I take that back. It was completely controllable. All Hansbrough had to do was kick the ball out to a guard to hold for 14 seconds instead of trying to get some nasty slam designed to rub salt in Duke’s wounds. Or, all Roy Williams had to do was to not have his starters in the game up 12 with 14 seconds. That would have controlled the situation.

But…of course…Hansbrough has the unalienable right to play hard and the Duke players aren’t given that same right? Why is that Tyler Hansbrough has the innate right to be intense and playing extremely hard at the end of the game but nobody else is allowed to do the same thing?

The play was hard; I personally think that it was meant to be hard; I definitely do not believe that it was meant to be intentional; The problem lies in the interpretation of ‘flagrant’

“By rule, this is a flagrant foul for combative and confrontational action”. OK. I buy that. If that is the rule for “flagrant” then I buy it. The problem therefore is that we have all seen dozens of fouls this season that constitute “combative and confrontational action”.

Ironically, it is the very Tyler Hansbrough who is involved in this situation that literally took a swipe/swing at the head of Brandon Costner in the Tarheels visit to Raleigh earlier in the year. Hansbrough barely missed conncecting with Costner, but did that somehow diminish the “combative and confrontational action” of taking a blatant swing at an opposing player in behavior that IN NO WAY was related to the play of the ball?

In the end, I think that I generally agree with these comments made by ESPN’s Pat Forde in this entry.

After viewing the replay several times, I agree that the blow to the face did not appear to be intentional. Henderson was going to block Hansbrough’s shot, then Hansbrough’s arm was pulled down and the ball flew out and Henderson’s forearm smashed Psycho T’s face. This was not a premeditated knockout.

However, Henderson appeared to be going in with the intent to deliver an enthusiastically hard foul. There is a place in the game for hard fouls, for forcefully preventing easy baskets, for occasionally planting an opponent on his rear end.

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06-07 Basketball General Media

114 Responses to SFN: Hansbrough vs Henderson

  1. GoldenChain 03/05/2007 at 10:04 AM #

    I’ve been telling my friends on another board for two years that I wish someone would just get Hasbro down on the court and beat him black and blue! The ejection would be worth it (which is what I bet Henderson feels this morning!) I had always hoped that Simmons would uncork on him, I think he would have had worse than a bloody nose!

    Now if we could get someone to do the same to Latta!

  2. Mr O 03/05/2007 at 10:07 AM #

    I still haven’t seen a good clip of this yet.

  3. Dan 03/05/2007 at 10:10 AM #

    ^ blog.850thebuzz.com has a great replay of it. Clearly not intentional. He was trying to get it really, really freaking hard. But just like punching, when you try too hard, you are a bit out of control.

    Not intentional.

    Tyler got what he deserved though. He was mad about the missed FT and was trying to pad his stats.

  4. Dan 03/05/2007 at 10:11 AM #

    btw, I’m pretty sure Tyler travelled there.

  5. Pack Laddie 03/05/2007 at 10:11 AM #

    My thought was, if it was one of our gyys that had taken the shot, we would all want Henderson ejected and suspended, and would have agreed with the call.

    If it had been one of our guys that delivered the blow, and had been tossed and suspended, we would think it was a horrible call.

    I have watched the replay several times, and you could make a reasonable case either way.

  6. CaptainCraptacular 03/05/2007 at 10:18 AM #

    *am very glad UNC doesn’t loom in the quarters. The potential for immediate revenge would be a great motivator for Duke on Thursday.*

    True.. I meant if we were not in the middle of it. Lets say if Duke were playing Miami for a chance at a rematch against Carolina in the quarters.

  7. Mr O 03/05/2007 at 10:18 AM #

    Agree Pack Laddie. What is so interesting about this one is that it was a “Dookie” taking a shot at a “Hole” and the Pack directly benefit from the suspension because we play Duke Thursday.

    The only way it could get any more interesting is if we barely beat Duke in a close enough game where it can be argued that we wouldn’t have won if Duke had Henderson and then go on to win the ACC tournament. Maybe a situation where Duke gets two or three players fouled out and then they are forced to play three walk-ons as we send them home on the first day.

  8. CaptainCraptacular 03/05/2007 at 10:23 AM #

    *Maybe a situation where Duke gets two or three players fouled out and then they are forced to play three walk-ons*

    In what alternate universe does this ever happen? 🙂

  9. 94wolfpack 03/05/2007 at 10:27 AM #

    I’m not buying this whole the starters “shouldn’t have been there in the first place argument”. Thats like saying you are responsible for someone stealing something from your house or car if its unlocked. It shouldn’t matter how much time is left on the clock or what the score is. Play hard play fair and be sportsmen even when the other guy isn’t. Too much is made today of “RESPECT”. Respect should be given, not taken. There is a simple way to get people off your logo or from celebrating or from running up the score; do a better job on the field/court and take care of the business there. I am in no way saying that people should disrespect others, but people also shouldn’t get over worked about it either. Was it B. Bowden who said “Coach, its not my job to stop my team from scoring.”?

    While UNC could’ve certainly taken the high road, Duke could’ve done the same, accept the fact that they got their behinds whipped and take it like men, instead of trying to do something they were unable to do all game long… stop UNC. I get absoultely sick and tired of hearing people say “They shun’t be disrespectin’ me” etc etc etc. Whether you believe it was an intentional foul or not. Stoping the Traveler wouldn’t have made any difference in the ball game other than saying “They ain’t comin in here an disrepectin us.” Thats a microcosm of the problem with the youth and society today.

    [/rant off]

    I will say, I did like seeing somebody get their money’s worth on a foul against Travler. 🙂 He plays and gets away with a lot of physical contact while others can barely breath on him. I would agree that he should’ve been tossed for the swipe/girly swing he took at Costner.

  10. noah 03/05/2007 at 10:29 AM #

    “If it had been one of our guys that delivered the blow, and had been tossed and suspended, we would think it was a horrible call.”

    You mean like how the UNC guys defended Hansborough’s attempted punch on Costner as TH just expressing a little frustration?

    “Darn it all to heck! That gentleman stole the ball! Shucks!”

  11. BJD95 03/05/2007 at 10:32 AM #

    Both coaches were dumb to have their starters in, especially in an emotional rivalry game like that. Tyler gets a bloody nose, Duke has to play State a man down. I like it when there are consequences to stupidity. Both coaches (and Tyler) sort of reaping what they have sown, so to speak.

    Of course, K is the one bitching about it, when it was equally his fault. Either coach could have prevented this by sending in the scrubs. The other one clearly would have responded in kind.

  12. Dan 03/05/2007 at 10:35 AM #

    Maybe, I come from a way different persepctive having played hockey, and I know the two arent anywhere near the same ballpark (RBC Center excluded).

    Still, you have to stand up for your team. GH did what he had to. I’d take my one game suspension with no complaints there. Statement sent:

    Dont pad your stats.

    I dont want to see our guys pulling that crap either. Win with class.

  13. BJD95 03/05/2007 at 10:36 AM #

    I actually think we have done a good job being reasonable and fair throughout. Most (but not all) of us at SFN agreed that Hansbrough should have been T’d up (but not ejected) for the 3/4 swipe at Costner. Similarly, most (but not all) of us seem to think that henderson should have gotten an intentional foul here, but not an ejection.

    Very evenhanded, IMHO. Still, I think Laddie is right that you could argue either way, and based on the actual blood drawn, it would have been hard for State fans not to have felt that an ejection was appropriate.

    However, we probably would have been more willing to admit to it being a “dick move” to go for the dunk in the first place. At least I hope so.

  14. Mr O 03/05/2007 at 10:37 AM #

    Now that I have seen it, then I think it was definitely worthy of a flagrant foul call. You don’t go up to block a shot at head level. You go up high with your arm stretched out especially since Hansbrough was going to be near the rim if he didn’t get mugged from behind.

    It was obvious GH wasn’t trying to make a clean play on the ball. Since his intent was to make a hard foul, then that definitely warrants a flagrant foul.

    Maybe if I saw it on a big screen I would change my mind. But to be honest, I am surprised to see so many people siding with Duke on this one.

    In terms of having Hansbrough playing hard at that point in the game, the Duke/UNC rivalry is so built up nationwide by everyone that I can’t blame Hansbrough for continuing to play to the intensity of the rivalry. Duke/UNC benefit from the hype surrounding their rivalry, so I am not going to feel sorry for either one of them when the rivalry escalates to the point where somebody gets hurt and/or a suspensions happens from the intense play in the game.

  15. ShootingGuard 03/05/2007 at 10:40 AM #

    ^^^^^

    For the record, I was not advocating intentionally elbowing anyone to the face or throwing a punch. I was merely stating my understanding of Henderson and others wanting to give Hanny hard fouls—as retaliation for all of the crap he does all the time.

    As SFN wisely pointed out, Hanny TOOK A SWING at Costner and no one said anything about it—except that Hanny is “passionate” and has such an “iron will” and crap like that.

    I am certain that Henderson was trying to deliver a hard foul—it definitely was not a swing like Hanny’s—but, unfortunately for Henderson, his action connected in a very bad way making him look pretty bad.

    Per usual, Hanny the golden boy gets more hype and praise for being “Psycho T”…Players around the league are laughing at that freak and wishing they were Henderson right now, despite the punishment.

    For the record also, I hated it when Keith Bean elbowed that guy for Houston from behind like a punk, so don’t even try to paint this as hypocrisy—Hanny is such an ass that, if he were on my team, I might still hate him for all the crap he does just like I was never a big supporter of Inge, Thornton, and guys like that who seemed more interested in elbowing and fighting than winning.

  16. Pack Laddie 03/05/2007 at 10:42 AM #

    BJD—your point about going for the dunk in that situation is very valid.

    I am not going to get into the–should either of them been in the game–argument, because that is a moot point. They were in the game.

    My thought as the play occurred, and Hansbrough got the board, was that he should have immediately kicked it out to the top, where somebody could have dribbled the clock out. Incident avoided.

  17. CarnifeX 03/05/2007 at 10:46 AM #

    Its ok, Hansbaby will whine about it to his pedicurist (don’t know if thats a word, but it works) while getting a mocha face mud pudding exfoliating douche.

    http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/547177.html

  18. Pack84 03/05/2007 at 10:53 AM #

    “I need to go watch the replay this morning. All I know is that it was the most satisfying outcome of a Duke/UNC game ever. ”

    Well, short of the roof caving in on them all, then yeah, I guess so.

  19. BJD95 03/05/2007 at 10:54 AM #

    Of all the players involved in this mini-drama, I think Roy and Henderson have handled themselves well AFTER THE FACT, K and Tyler badly.

    Henderson (at least in the clips I saw) seemed contrite over Tyler getting hurt, said that was not his intent, but didn’t grouse about the penalty itself. Roy was pretty restrained in general, and only responded by calling K out for being the hypocritical jackhole that he is.

  20. smfrank 03/05/2007 at 10:57 AM #

    I didn’t read all the comments, but I just want to say that this is about as close as possible for an ideal outcome to this game. If someone ask me who I want to see win the infamous “Duke-UNC” rivalry game. I respond saying I hope both teams come out of the game with broken bones. And to have Handsborough come out with a bloody nose and a Duke player suspended – its as close as you can get to an ideal outcome. I hope next year to see something like the Pistons-Pacers.

  21. Mr O 03/05/2007 at 10:57 AM #

    Watched it again…

    He definitely could have passed the ball out as there were two open guys. However, I still can’t fault Hansbrough for playing hard and I am really not even faulting GH for making a hard foul. However, when you try to make a hard foul, there is a possibility that the result can warrant a flagrant foul and in this case it was justified IMO.

    Probably bad luck for GH, but if he didn’t want to risk the flagrant foul, then he could have made a legitimate attempt at stopping Hansbrough down low.

    Overall, it was a good call by the referees IMO.

  22. packof81 03/05/2007 at 11:16 AM #

    I’ve looked at the replay several times at normal speed and slow motion. To call this a flagrant foul is being generous. The officials did the minimum they could do by ejecting Henderson and suspending him from the next game.

    That was a deliberate full power forearm to the nose. Henderson meant to knock Hansbrough to the floor in a crumpled heap. It was his intention to take Hansbrough out.

    Did Hansbrough deserve this? Apparently some of you think so because he plays rough. OK, then I say let ’em fight. Just like in hockey. I mean, one way to stop some of the subtle and not so subtle rough stuff is to let ’em fight when it boils over. Forget all the hypocracy. Let’s just let it go to it’s logical conclusion and get it out of their systems. Just think of all the extra excitement. And just like hockey fights and NASCAR wrecks and scuffles, ratings will soar. Yeah. Let ’em fight.

  23. CaptainCraptacular 03/05/2007 at 11:19 AM #

    I’m glad that TH wasn’t ejected for the swing at Costner. Would’ve detracted from the win to external observers. When we beat Carolina I like for them to be at full strength, so there is little room for excuses.

  24. kool k 03/05/2007 at 11:40 AM #

    I have Chris Clark on in the background at my desk…he just broke out the “DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?” reference…now that’s funny

  25. Dan 03/05/2007 at 12:00 PM #

    BJD, very good comments.

    The ejection was deserved. He drew blood.

    At the same time I think a hard foul was called for given the situation. Sometimes that is what happens.

    Tyler shouldnt be playing martyr here. GH shouldnt be saying he is innocent either. Still, GH didnt intend to draw blood. Tyler absolutely intended to run up the score and pad stats.

    I personally think the situation played out perfectly. A broken nose isnt the end of the world.

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