Home for the Holidays

By the time he emerged from the elevator and was greeted by dozens of fans, friends and family Friday night in the lobby of the Scottrade Center, Tyler Hansbrough was tired.

He had just finished a double-double performance in which the North Carolina sophomore played all but five minutes, battling a 6-foot-10, 270-pound Greek beast and leading the Tar Heels to a 69-48 win.

His dazzling homecoming performance, however, wasn't finished. After the majority of the record-setting crowd of 22,539 left, many of which were headed back to Poplar Bluff, Hansbrough signed autographs and posed for photos.

"Tyler had a heck of a game," said UNC coach Roy Williams in the postgame press conference. "That's a lot of pressure on a youngster to come back and have half the town of Poplar Bluff here."

While the focus on the court was Hansbrough, who scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting while pulling down 13 rebounds, the real story was in the stands.

It was part Christmas, part New Year's Eve, part sporting event.

The whole family sat behind the North Carolina bench as both brothers, Greg and Ben, got back from their colleges for the game.

Ben Hansbrough, a starting point guard at Mississippi State, played the night before and didn't get back to campus until past midnight. He then woke up at 5 a.m., drove to Memphis to catch a plane and his older brother's return to Missouri.

"Man, I wish I could be out there with him," said Ben standing in the Blues team store during halftime, a day before his 19th birthday.

"It brings back memories though."

Ben's homecoming will be Jan. 2 when his Bulldogs play at Mizzou Arena, site of Poplar Bluff's last state title the brothers helped win.

Older brother Greg, a student at Missouri, said he'll be there but will be wearing maroon.

Both Greg and his dad, Gene, said Friday night was the best Christmas present.

"It's so good just to see T again," Greg said. "Man I missed the little guy."

There were so many familiar faces walking around, it was as if Peters Gym expanded and started serving beer. Fans who usually wore maroon added light blue to their wardrobe or had No. 50 on their backs or a Tar Heel hat.

The mayor was there and so was Three Rivers coach Gene Bess and his family sitting near the Saint Louis student section. Of course Mules scorekeeper Tom Hoover had good seats while players from the Malden Green Wave got a chance to shoot a few hoops, then watch the teams warm up from the bench. Fans dotted the farthest reaches of the upper deck with their Tyler T-shirts.

"It's really interesting because I think he's theirs. He's their son too," said Tyler's mom Tami Hansbrough. "There's a lot of pride there and I'm excited about that.

"He was so excited to see everybody."

There were too many to see all in one night. Former teammates and classmates were there, a few members of the media that once covered Hansbrough's games, now were just fans.

"I'm not used to seeing him like that," former teammate and Mules senior Rusty Bryant said. "It's a big game for Poplar Bluff. There's so many people that are here.

"It's exciting, it's great."

The number of fans from Poplar Bluff was estimated at anywhere from 1,600 to 3,000 and by the reaction of the crowd when Hansbrough was introduced, the number of people who came just to see him was bigger than that.

It was hard to tell which team was home but, as Gene Hansbrough pointed out, the Billikens had the band and the cheerleaders.

"I thought when they introduced Tyler, there probably were a few boos, but there was some great cheering," Williams said.

Poplar Bluff native Drew Brown, who now lives in North Carolina, has seen this before having watched Hansbrough at the Dean Dome.

"It's actually kind of strange," Brown said. "They're offering you money for your (Poplar Bluff Mules) shirt. 'Take off your shirt, give it to me, here's $100 bucks.'"

Steve Rhodes, who keeps the clock at Peters Gym, upgraded Friday night when the owners of a luxury box offered their tickets.

"The best seat in the house in the (officials) table," Rhodes said. "We have great seats here tonight (but) it's kind of hard to gauge their height and how big these kids really are."

It was probably better to be at a safe distance as Hansbrough, now 6-9 and 245 pounds, battled Saint Louis senior Ian Vouyoukas in the paint.

At halftime, the Billikens trailed by one in what former Mules coach John David Pattillo called an ugly game.

"To me, it still looks like North Carolina is trying to figure out who they are and what roles they fit into," Pattillo said.

If there's one player who knows his role, it's Hansbrough. He had just one turnover in 35 minutes while blocking a shot and picking up two steals.

"He's doing about the same things he's always done and that's always made him successful," Pattillo said. "Except now he's always going to have about three guys inside crowding around him."

It used to be four guys guarding him in high school but now the lights are brighter and arenas bigger.

"You just watched one of the great youngsters of all time answer questions on a day that was filled with a lot of pressure and a lot of stress," Williams said in the postgame press conference.

Still, Hansbrough seems to handle it all just fine and everybody had fun.

"These are going to be the good 'ole days so we're enjoying every second of it," Tami said. "It's exciting."