UNC Blue Blood

Obviously I need a post about this shot between the eyes, and also to comment on the back and forth about the intention of the play. I will first interject my opinion which is this was an accident. Here me out, he meant to make contact but Gerald Henderson’s clearly did a double take when he saw what had happened.

We have all been kidding around with a friend or perhaps a person much smaller than you and realized too late that your fun “push or poke” made way too much contact. After this happens you are left to apologize or let pride force you to walk away and pretend you don’t care.

I am NOT saying this was an “accident” or that the hit wasn’t viscous and violent but he clearly made a move which is very unconscious to a player when the game is lost.

At this stage of a heated game a person goes through the motions, and the motions is dont let the player make a layup. Gerald Henderson was doing what equates to “insert foul here”, and then realized his swipe and depth determination didnt agree and his swing made full contact.

Did he mean to hit him? YES
Did he mean to hit his face? NO
Did he mean to hurt another basketball player, no matter what teams they are on? I would expect, never in his worst day would he want that.
Will this make the rematch a bloodbath? Probally yes, mostly thanks to angry fans chatter.

I have title this post “UNC bleeds blue” because i salute the reponse from Hansbrough today. Today Tyler Hansbrough came out and said he “holds no ill will” and expects that Gerald Henderson didn’t mean to hurt him like that.

I am proud of a class player and true talent like Tyler Hansbrough for knowing the order of the game.

Any person involved in sports knows to put the following order in your mind and heart, and even before your own team colors.

Sports ethics need to go “God to Family to Country to Sport to Team to Coach”. Respect for plkayers of your sport should come before any anger of a team or rivalry.

A true athlete understands that even beyond the line of team comes a code with every sport. When you live and play in the kingdom of NCAA basketball “which is North Carolina”, you need to show the game respect, even when it is from UNC to Duke. To show respect to the game you need to put what you know in your heart to be true first.

Hansbrough knows Gerald Henderson’s situation, his intent and his mindset. He understand another player and that he didnt mean to hurt him, he was going through the motions of a game that was lost.

I hope somehwere sometime in the near future they meet as two basketball players not wearing team jerseys and shake in appreciation of the many things they have in common and the common knowledge that the game itself needs to come even before the color of your jersey.

Both these guys are part of great teams and programs, neither of them appear to want anything but to compete and win with a level of honor, in this fact I am sure they get it. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.

Henderson hates easy layups with 17 seconds left, Hansbrough hates getting his nose broken, but both should have respect and no hate for each other beyond those simple facts.