WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

Hansbrough on hoops, cooking and fishing

By Jeff Gravley

Mar 5, 2009

Tyler Hansbrough grew up in Poplar Bluff, Mo., but his dream was to be a Tar Heel.

"I remember in the back yard when I was 6 or 8. I used to lower the goal down to 8 feet and dunk, " Hansbrough recalls. "I acted like I was playing for North Carolina in the Final Four or something like that and being the star."

From those backyard dreams, Tyler Hansbrough has become one of the most decorated Tar Heels in school history. Next season, his number 50 will join seven retired jerseys.

What will that moment be like for him, watching No. 50 being lifted to the rafters?

"For me, I'll have to kind of check to make sure it's not a dream. I realize all those players and what they've done for this program. I've been here a long time and put a lot of work in, so it means a lot to me to be up there."

Hoops has been Hansbrough's avenue to fame, but he doesn't watch much basketball in his free time.

"I like to watch the silly programs," Hansbrough said through a grin. "The Rock of Love," "Nitro Circus" and "East Bound and Down" are a trio of shows that Hansbrough watches. They are "just a bunch of things that make me laugh, " he said.

He likes to laugh and pull pranks, and there was a time when Tyler would sidle up to the stove and cook with his girlfriend.

"I mean, who hasn't done something crazy for a girl? It was a point in our relationship where we liked to cook a lot, so I was doing a little bit of cooking. But I've moved past that stage."

Cooking may be out of his system, but fishing on a lake remains one of his passions.

"I love to catch catfish for some reason, I don't know why. They are bigger fish and put up a little more fight," Hansbrough observed.

What else would you expect from the hard-working Hansbrough but a fish that gives him a physical challenge.

"My prize fish is a 17- pound, albino catfish," Hansbrough bragged.

Everyone knew the legendary fish was in the lake, but no one had ever caught it until Hansbrough hooked it.

"I had it on my line, about a 10-pound-test line, and I knew he was going to break my line, so I got in the lake, took my shirt off and started reeling it in. I wrapped it up in my shirt and tackled it up to the bank," Tyler explained.

Hansbrough called everyone down to the bank to show off his prize fish, took a quick snapshot then wrestled it back in the lake.

Now that's an all-American fish story.