Tyler Hansbrough is a Risky Choice for Indiana Pacers

We know, in the long run, what his future is going to be. It's going to be filled with nothing but accolades. And believe me, in this league, he'll get along just fine. It sorta reminds me of when I came out. - Larry Bird on Tyler Hansbrough

I replayed that three-second segment of the Indiana Pacers introductory press conference Friday over and over. After each replay, I shot my fiancée the Did He Really Just Say That? face. Hansbrough reminds the greatest power forward in NBA history of himself? Shoot, I was just hoping the kid could morph into a rich man's Jeff Foster.

And believe me, in this league he's going to get along just fine. It sorta reminds me of when I came out.

After about the eighth replay, it finally hit me. How many GM's have to ensure a fan base his first round draft pick will "get along just fine" in the NBA? How many of them then go on to compare the player to one of the top five greats ever? Bird wasn't committing basketball blasphemy. Inside, he lacked the conviction of a southern Baptist minister. He was defending his pick.

He was hoping.

Hoping he'd found the second coming of himself. Hoping Hansbrough would morph into Basketball Jesus. Simply hoping the kid wouldn't be a bust.

To be clear, I've been an avid Pacers fan my entire life. I've stuck with the team through the Eastern Conference Finals disappointments in the 1990s, the glory of the 2000 NBA Finals appearance and the embarrassment of the 2004 melee in Detroit. With a pile of off-court incidents and on-court losses since the brawl, it's become increasingly difficult to stay loyal to my home state's basketball team. But somehow I've managed.

Unfortunately, the Basketbrawl's aftermath left Indiana as perpetual losers. Like most teams that perennially fail to make the Playoffs, the NBA Draft has become the highlight of my basketball season. (Is it a bad sign when the highlight of your basketball season comes in the offseason? Yes. Yes it is.) I'm disappointed with Hansbrough, kind of like a 17-year-old boy whose prom night didn't receive the "proper" ending. But I'm at least confident Hansbrough won't be a bust.

I've followed Hansbrough since he was a senior in high school. I remember the 6-foot-nine forward dropping 16 points and going toe-to-toe with Greg Oden while at Popular Bluff. I'll defend his place as one of the five greatest college players ever against anyone who thinks otherwise. I love the kid. I appreciate his work ethic and the way he carries himself. He exudes confidence like Billy Beane in the book Moneyball.

Hansbrough won't be a bust; he'll be a 10-year role player who never amounts to much but always contributes. To be fair, in a draft that was only about 10 players deep, that's not entirely Bird's fault. All the "sure things" were off the board by No. 13. It's not that Psycho T will be a crappy player. I could even see him being a 15 and 8 guy. (Even though Hansbrough's college coach, Roy Williams, gave him a sterling recommendation!! ... Wait. Isn't that like Kevin James telling us all to go see Paul Blart Mall Cop because it's a great movie and not because he'll make more money? Damn.) The thing that really ticked me off is whom we passed on.

We had two killer/uber/mega needs entering the 2009 NBA Draft. Hansbrough addresses neither. (Although I have to chuckle at how some Pacers fans suddenly decided we needed a tough, defensive-minded banger, like Foster and Roy Hibbert aren't already on the roster.) We've needed an athletic power forward since dinosaurs roamed the earth, and we passed on the second coming of Lamar Odom - one of the top five talents in this year's draft! - Earl Clark. We need another point guard like the Titanic needed more lifeboats, and we passed on a free-falling Jrue Holiday (a kid who underachieved in his freshman year at UCLA but has crazy upside).

Bird justified his decision because Hansbrough was one of the few players available who could help the team next year. Like that matters? The Cavs acquired Shaq, the Magic traded for Vince Carter and the Celtics expect Kevin Garnett back next season. We're not a contender. Mel Gibson has a better chance of befriending a Jew than the Pacers have of making it past the first round. We're still building for the future. We're still building for the future. WE'RE STILL BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE!!! I don't understand why Bird doesn't get this? I don't understand why it was so important to draft a player who can help us next season?

You don't win titles (at least, I think that's still Bird's goal?) in this league without taking calculated risks. You can't win them without GREAT players, not just GOOD players. That's the problem with Larry Bird's philosophy with rebuilding this team.

I will admit Hansbrough is better than Clark or Holiday right now. He'll have a better rookie campaign, too. But will he be better three years from now? I'd say he has as good of a chance at becoming the second coming of Basketball Jesus.