Q&A with Tyler Hansbrough

North Carolina will be the visiting team on the scoreboard Friday night but the Tar Heels will have plenty of fans in St. Louis when they face the Billikens. Nearly 1,600 tickets were sold to fans from Southeast Missouri for the game, which tips off at 6 p.m. at the Scottrade Center and features Poplar Bluff native Tyler Hansbrough.

The All-American took time following Wednesday's practice to talk with DAR Sports Editor Brian Rosener:

DAR: How important is this game Friday night for you personally?

TYLER HANSBROUGH: Personally I think it's one of the games I looked forward to since the beginning of this year. A lot of people that watched me in high school, throughout high school, can't really get a chance to drive to Chapel Hill to watch us play in North Carolina. … I think it's a great opportunity for people who really keep up with me, around the community to get a chance to watch North Carolina and me play live. …

DAR: Will it be a business-only trip or will you get to spend some time with friends and family?

TH: Well at first, I think it's going to be business. When I first get there I'm going to try and stay focused on the game. I probably won't get to talk much to my family or friends before the game, in person, because we get there on Thursday night. I have to do a lot of things with the team and get prepared. I watch some video, scouting and things like that. But after the game I'm definitely driving back to Poplar Bluff with my friends and family. We'll spend a lot of time and catch up. Come back to Chapel hill and finish out the season … I'm leaving the day after Christmas.

DAR: Other than family and friends, what do you miss most about home?

TH: The community first. Just being around people you know every day. Going somewhere where you're always welcomed. It's a great community and people don't truly know how great it is until they've been somewhere else. You look back and you just miss a lot of people you see on a daily basis. …

DAR: What do opposing players/fans say to you on the court to get under your skin?

TH: I haven't heard anything really outrageous this year. I can't say I really remember anything. They all have goofy pictures of me and things like that. It's always pretty embarrassing when they hold up pictures and everybody on the team is laughing at it too.

DAR: What's the biggest difference between playing high school and college basketball?

TH: I'd just say you play a lot more games. It's much more bigger atmosphere. There's a lot more people and things in the crowd. I would say it's really intense in college. It's a big jump from high school to college in the intensity and the play, the size on each team.

DAR: Speaking of intensity, what's it like in one of Roy Williams' timeouts or locker room speeches?

TH: It depends on the situation. Each situation is different.

DAR: He seemed pretty happy last night (The Tar Heels won 105-52)?

TH: Last night things were going well for us so he didn't really dig into us that bad. But I would say there's been games where we haven't been playing the way he feels that we should be playing. He'll come into the locker room and really get into us and try to fire us up.

DAR: How did you prepare for a season knowing your Tar Heels are one of the 'favorites' to win the title?

TH: Yeah it was in the back of our minds but I'd say we prepared just the way we did last year. We can't really listen to all the rankings because that's just what people say outside our program. We want to focus on what everybody on our team was and the goals we had set forth. We prepared just like we did last year. Just do the things that we needed to do to get wins and play hard.

DAR: What's it like being on all those magazine covers?

TH: I mean it's great to get recognition like that but … You know there was a lot of hard work involved to get to where you get your face on one of those magazines so I'm pretty proud of it.

DAR: What are the biggest differences between The Bluff and The Hill?

TH: Chapel Hill is a community too. It's not really big. It's not a big city. You know pretty much a lot of people here. So I mean it's pretty much the best place I could be away from Poplar Bluff right now. I really enjoy it but the biggest difference is I'm not around the people that I grew up with every day.

DAR: What's been your favorite class and have you decided on a major yet?

TH: I haven't decided on a major but my favorite class has been sociology of sports. … It just involved the social aspects of sports and things like that. The output on how things can effect a person while they're playing or other things like that. …

DAR: How's the nightlife in Chapel Hill?

TH: When I do get to go out it's great.

DAR: Have you been able to keep up with how the Mules are doing this year and do you have any advice for the team?

TH: I haven't really kept up. I talked to Phillip Brown a little bit. Always tell him to keep on practicing. How are they doing?

DAR: Good. They're 3-4 after beating Scott City last night. Phillip scored 24 and the Showdown is next.

TH: I'm really proud of them. I wish I could come back and catch a game. I'm always pulling for them no matter what.

DAR: Did you ever imagine when you were younger that someday kids would be wearing T-shirts with your name on them running around Peters Gym?

TH: No, I never really imagined that. In my backyard, maybe, when I was playing by myself I had seen myself playing for a big-time college and being a prime time player but at the same time, it is great.

DAR: How often do people bring up the NBA Draft?

TH: A little bit. I've had a few questions. It's just like last year. I enjoy this place. When the time is right then I'll think about it. It's not anywhere in my mind right now.

DAR: What do you think about your brother Ben's first year so far at Mississippi State?

TH: Well I think he's doing great. I always had confidence in Ben because I've seen what he does when he plays. I've played with him my whole life. I think he's got great potential. The way he plays and works, he's going to just excel no matter where he is. I'm really proud of him right now. I always keep up with Ben. I even record his games.

DAR: How much do you guys get to talk and how much of that is basketball related?

TH: We talk all the time but not a lot of it is really about basketball. We talk about everything.

DAR: What would it be like to someday pit your Tar Heels against his Bulldogs?

TH: It'd be really tough on me personally to play against Ben. It would be a different look. I've played with Ben on the same team pretty much my whole life. Then having to play against him in a big game in the tournament, it would be really hard but at the same time I'm not going to give him anything.

DAR: You used to hate talking to me in high school? How comfortable are you now dealing with the media?

TH: I don't really enjoy (talking) right after the game to any of the media because you always have everything else on your mind. It's hard to get the things that you really want to say right after a game. They're just coming at you and you haven't thought about everything. Your mind is still on the way everything went out there. You could be angry, you could be happy, you could be upset. Sometimes you say things you don't really mean. I've grown. Playing for North Carolina, you get a lot of press coverage so I've definitely come into a comfort zone with the media.

DAR: If you could pick one place and one person to shoot hoops with, where would it be and who?

TH: One person?

DAR: Sorry, that's what makes it a good question.

TH: It would be probably my brother Ben at E.T. Peters Gym. Yeah.

DAR: Why?

TH: Because it's someplace I've done a lot of things at and I've shot there my whole life. It kind of goes back and I get to sit back, (think) about all the memories we had in high school. Just shoot around and everything like that.