Hansbrough named ACC player of the year

Tyler Hansbrough has been named the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball player of the year, becoming only the third player in ACC history to win player of the year voting in unanimous fashion.

Hansbrough received all 90 votes from the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association, joining David Thompson of NC State (1975) and Josh Howard of Wake Forest (2003) as the only unanimous selections in the 55-year history of the ACC.

"Tyler has been fantastic all year on both ends of the floor, yet he really elevated his game over the second half of the ACC schedule," Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "A number of our players stepped forward in Ty Lawson's absence, but Tyler had the ability to dominate key stretches of games and that gave our players a level of confidence that pushed us toward the regular-season ACC title. It is gratifying to see the awards and rewards go to a young man who doesn't rest on his previous accomplishments and works so hard to improve each and every day. I am lucky to be his coach."

Hansbrough is the 11th different Tar Heel to win ACC player of the year, and the first since Joseph Forte shared the award with Duke's Shane Battier in 2001. Hansbrough joins a list of UNC recipients that includes Lennie Rosenbluth (1957), Pete Brennan (1958), Lee Shaffer (1960), Billy Cunningham (1965), Larry Miller (1967 and 1968), Mitch Kupchak (1976), Phil Ford (1978), Michael Jordan (1984), Antawn Jamison (1998) and Forte (2001).